Putin Orders Assault “From All Directions” As Ukrainians Offer Fierce Resistance (Updates)
AP News: “Fighting on [Kyiv’s] outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces.”
The Russian invading force intensified its assault on Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv and other cities as the offensive enters its fourth day. Amid fierce resistance from the Ukrainian military, Kremlin ordered Russian forces to hit the defenders “from all directions.”
“All Russian units in Ukraine were on Saturday given the order to resume their offensive from all directions,” the Reuters reported quoting the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
The Russian troop movement around Kyiv suggest that a major offensive on the capital is on its way. “Fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces,” the Associated Press reported Sunday morning.
Russian missiles and artillery fire caused huge explosions in Kyiv and other besieged cities, Western news outlets confirm. “Russian forces launched coordinated missile and artillery attacks on Ukrainian cities on Saturday including the capital, Kyiv,” TV channel France24 reported. “Russian missiles have hit the Ukrainian town of southwest of the capital, Kyiv, setting an oil terminal ablaze.”
Russia hits Ukrainian Oil and Gas Infrastructure
The Russian military is targeting the Ukrainian oil and gas infrastructure. The invading forces destroyed a major oil depot near Kyiv, as well as a gas pipeline in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Ukrainian sources say.
It is worth noting that before the offensive began Ukraine was a major transit country for Russian gas to Western Europe. With the undersea Nord Stream 2 pipeline connecting Russia directly to Germany now almost complete, Russia could have lessened its reliance on Ukraine for its gas delivery to European countries.
The Associated Press reported the latest wave of Russian assault:
Russia unleashed a wave of attacks on Ukraine targeting airfields and fuel facilities in what appeared to be the next phase of an invasion that has been slowed by fierce resistance. The U.S. and EU responded with weapons and ammunition for the outnumbered Ukrainians and powerful sanctions intended to further isolate Moscow.
Huge explosions lit up the sky early Sunday south of the capital, Kyiv, where people hunkered down in homes, underground garages and subway stations in anticipation of a full-scale assault by Russian forces.
Flames billowed into the air before dawn from an oil depot near the Zhuliany airport, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the capital, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office and the mayor of the nearby town of Vasylkiv. (…)
The curfew forcing everyone in Kyiv inside was set to last through Monday morning. The relative quiet of the capital was sporadically broken by gunfire.
Fighting on the city’s outskirts suggested that small Russian units were trying to clear a path for the main forces. Small groups of Russian troops were reported inside Kyiv, but Britain and the U.S. said the bulk of the forces were 19 miles (30 kilometers) from the city’s center as of Saturday afternoon.
Ukrainian Resistance Slows Russian Advance
The Kremlin’s order to intensify the assault comes in the face of unexpected and stiff resistance from the Ukrainian military, which has reportedly slowed the Russian advance.
What was supposed to be Putin’s Blitzkrieg looks more and more like his Stalingrad. #PutinAtWar #PutinHitler #PutinIsaWarCriminal #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/IyM57QxE8o
— olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) February 26, 2022
“Intense fighting overnight appeared to stem some of the Russian advance towards the capital, creating frustration amongst the Russian military and political leadership,” the French TV channel Euronews reported citing Western intelligence sources.
We know what #Putin’s plan was:
– air dominance in first 12 hours
– Destroy #Ukraine military comms in 36 hours
– Bypass major urban areas,cut off Eastern Army,encircle #Kyiv & get govt to flee within 48 hours
-Install puppet govt within 72 hours
He is still 0 for 4
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) February 27, 2022
Putin Deploys Muslim Chechen Fighters in Ukraine
President Vladimir Putin has deployed notorious Muslim fighters from Chechnya against the defending Uranian forces, the leader of the Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, confirmed.
In the past, Kadyrov, a close ally of President Putin, has sympathized with acts of jihad terror in the West, including the 2020 beheading of a French teacher over Muhammad cartoons by a Chechen immigrant.
Reuters reported Kadyrov’s statement confirming the presence of Chechen fighters in Ukraine:
Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Saturday that Chechen fighters had been deployed to Ukraine and urged Ukrainians to overthrow their government.
In a video posted online, Kadyrov boasted that Chechen units had so far suffered no losses and said Russian forces could easily take large Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, but that their task was to avoid loss of life.
“As of today, as of this minute, we do not have one single casualty, or wounded, not a single man has even had a runny nose,” Kadyrov said, denying what he said were false reports of casualties from Ukrainian sources.
Too Little, Too Late: Biden and Europeans Agree on More Military Aid
With Russian forces closing in on Kyiv from multiple sides, the Biden administration and the Europeans have agreed to fly in urgent military aid.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden approved $350 million in military aid to Ukraine. “With Ukraine struggling to repel Russia’s tanks, bombers, helicopters and missiles, the new tranche would supply Ukrainian forces with anti-armor and anti-aircraft systems, ammunition for firearms and body armor, according to the State Department,” the U.S. weekly Defense News noted.
Germany revised its long-standing policy and pledged to supply weapons to the besieged country. The German military will send 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 “Stinger” class surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion, the government announced.
That military aid may fail to halt the Russian advance so late in the game. Russia has destroyed or occupied all military and civilian airfields, and has “complete air superiority” above Ukrainian skies, Western intelligence analysts say. According to media reports, nearly half of the Russia’s estimated 150,000 invading force has now entered Ukrainian soil.
Europe Braces for a Refugee Wave
As Russia invades a country bigger than France, with a population of over 44 million, Europe is bracing for a massive refugee wave. As of Saturday, 100,000 Ukrainians, mostly women and elderly, managed to cross into Poland.
The number of refugees fleeing to Europe could rise up to 5 million, U.S. officials estimate. “Neighboring Poland, Romania, Czechia and Slovakia have already begun making preparations for inflows of up to a million people,” the CNBC noted.
Updates:
UKRAINE AGREES TO PEACE TALKS WITH RUSSIA
“Ukraine says it was ready to negotiate with Russia and sending its representatives to Belarus border,” Germany’s Deutsch Welle reports. Moscow will send a delegation to meet the Ukrainian negotiators, German state broadcaster ARD confirmed.
However, it remains unclear if Moscow will cease military hostilities during the talks.
PUTIN PUTS NUCLEAR FORCES ON ALERT
Meanwhile Putin has escalated the situation by placing Russian nuclear forces on alert. “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear-armed forces on high alert on Sunday as Ukrainian fighters defending the city of Kharkiv said they had repelled an attack by invading Russian troops,” Reuters reported.
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Comments
No Chechnyan casualties? Might want to tell Indian news: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x88btsm
Regarding military aid I’d suggest prioritising things that can be easily hidden and are portable enough for rapid guerilla strikes.
Curious that Putin’s felt the need to ready his nuclear forces and also ask other nations to help with his invasion. All by itself that tells me he’s worried and failing.
Putin’s not used to losing, he won’t be taking it well.
He is saber-rattling with the nukes. Takes the alert level of all nuke-countries to a higher ready alertness. Dangerous but unless he wants to take the entire world down with him, it will not win anything for him or Russia. He is desperate and probably sensing losing the support of his generals. In Russia, dictators are not voted out. They are forced out and often die in the procedure.
Yet, the stupid never ends:
https://www.dailywire.com/news/conservatives-blast-california-democrat-for-asking-saudis-to-produce-oil-instead-of-u-s
Is there any doubt how corrupt our government has become? We are fighting foreign enemies who may be in control of our government. “Red Handed” lists a long list of these Uniparty traitors. Somehow, we have to defend ourselves surrounded by these scoundrels.
If we are serious about taking down Russia, step one is “DRILL BABY DRILL!!!” I am learning that activity is building up in the Permian Basin. It would take little time to get many of those wells uncapped and producing into our vast pipeline system.
This will greatly increase the civilian death count thereby making Putin and Russia even more of a pariah.
I suggest directing your gaze at Brandon, without whose weakness, incompetence and fossil fuels policy boosting its price this IMO would never have happened. Brandon projects weakness. Putin filled the vacuum.
Just for reference, the Army of Ukraine is 5 times larger than the German Army.
Well, yeah. Because the USA is the rest of the German Army.
Agreed. Sell out Joe is the catalyst for this war with his actions on day one over domestic energy policy. Advantage given back to foreign powers. Soon after our cut and run from Afghanistan was weak and cowardly and looked bad on tv. His reversal of Trump policy regarding Nordstrom pipeline may have been the last straw.
all it takes is one lone wolf
Truth if the first casualty of war and all players employ propaganda. It’s HIGHLY unlikely Putin thought he would be in control of Kiev in 72-hours. Keep in mind that in the 2nd Gulf War, we commenced aerial bombardment (aka Shock & Awe) on March 20th. Coalition forces didn’t take the first major city – Basra – until April 6th. Two-days later, American armor rolled into Baghdad establishing operational control about 30-hours later. IOW, it took us two solid weeks to get control of Baghdad.
Russia still enjoys the upper hand, militarily. And despite reports of incompetent lost soldiers (it happens, remember Private Jessica?) and perhaps heavier than expected losses for Russia, they’re still knocking on the door of the nation’s capital less than five days after kinetic action began. My guess is they’re more or less inside their time-table despite what you may hear from TV talking heads.
Having said that, as we all know now, that was the easy part. We were largely greeted as liberators….at first; the organized insurgency didn’t begin in earnest until roughly 18-months later. Russia clearly isn’t going enjoy that honeymoon period. They’re going to suffer their own ‘Anbar Province’ only this time, it won’t be 36% of the population bringing the pain and it’s not going to be geographically limited. It’s going to be every Ukrainian in every part of the country looking to be opportunistic killers, which will of course make them targets themselves. This is going to be a humanitarian disaster of biblical proportions unless someone – or something – can bring Putin to the negotiating table for earnest ceasefire talks.
My question is whether the Russian economy can be crushed enough or enough dead soldiers that his position becomes more tenuous. I doubt he will care, but might his generals and oligarchs?
I have the same question. I wish I could rely on what I hear and read and about the ‘strength’ of these sanctions and the impact they’ll have. Unfortunately, since I know enough about war, having done it for most of my adult life, to understand that much of what is being said/written about how this kinetic war is going is bullshit, I have no faith in the reporting of other aspects of it. I simply don’t understand enough about macro economics and international finance to gauge the potential impact of what western economies are doing.
I do think it’s encouraging this morning that there seems to be a legitimate run on Russian banks. That’s good news. I have thought since this began that ultimately, the only thing that might work is pressure from the Russian people. Putin very well may have miscalculated there. Maybe someone close to him will do the world a solid and shoot him in the face.
One thing, and it’s a big one, regarding the sanctions, keep in mind that targeting individuals for seizing their assets opens up that game for everyone. We’ll see how soon we start seeing reports and pictures about our own compromised and corrupt politicians. I expect the Hunter laptop will pale to the mountain of evidence of corruption than can be heaved into the mix. “Red-Handed” has been leading the “best seller” list for over 3 weeks already and what has been the reaction? Meh. If there was anyone in our government who could act, they don’t so we can assume they are corrupt. And we don’t need to wait for the evidence before we say so and act accordingly. This is war where the lawyers step back and let the dogs fight it out.
Thank you, the odds during the 2nd Iraq War was a lot more one sided so seeing the actual times from it actually is useful.
For those of you preoccupied with Trump not being perfect enough, here another examples of McConnell’s Gang of 19+ aiding our enemies today:
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/02/27/romney-biden-has-done-extraordinarily-well-working-with-our-allies/
https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2022/02/27/romney-liz-cheney-has-been-right-for-a-long-time-morons-on-our-team/
Someone has to explain to most of the GOP who the real enemy and it isn’t the American people nor Trump.
At this point the best thing 10% China Joe can do is just stay out of the way and let the adults sort this out.
WRT the video of the destroyed convoy embedded in the tweet. Are we sure of the date and location this was made?
There is far more snow on the ground than I would have expected.
I’m surprised you’ve been downvoted, it’s a reasonable question. There is however snow a-plenty in some parts of Ukraine, and indeed it was snowing heavily on one webcam I was watching yesterday. I’ve even seen contemporary footage of a dead soldier with snow settled on him.
It is a mess trying to differentiate between current and old footage, and also basic things like ‘is this destroyed vehicle Russian or Ukrainian’.
Indeed, the BBC and today’s Telegraph newspaper have both used the same image of ‘burning Russian armour’, and although the vehicles in the background are marked as Russian the one actually on fire appears to have the Ukrainian emblem on its door:
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/151AC/production/_123444468_times-nc.jpg
Is Putin fighting a half assed war? I’m seeing video and pictures of like 3 armored vehicles here and a tank there. Not sure how you take over a country without overwhelming force, and clearly there is damage but I’m not seeing what I thought I’d be seeing.
You got to wonder how much the Russian conscripts want to fight this fight.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10554929/Video-claims-Ukrainians-mocking-Russian-tank-stuck-without-fuel-road-Kyiv.html
‘Need a tow back to Russia?’ Ukrainians taunt soldiers after their tank runs out of fuel on its way to Kyiv”
As I said above, put very little faith in what you see and even less in what you hear. It’s impossible to know exactly what’s going on without real-time access to aerial or satellite imagery. Putin launched this invasion on Thursday. He already has the capital city surrounded. By any measure, that’s….efficient.
https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1498006281403174914
If the Kiev mayor is accurate in his assessment it means that not only can residents not escape but – perhaps more importantly – they can’t be resupplied. If Russian forces gain control of power generation facilities and other public utilities, like gas & water, they can simply starve the city into submission. And honestly, this may have been the plan all along. It’s not like siege warfare is a novel concept.
This was always going to be about the insurgency and maintaining support for it in the west.
FYI, mayor has corrected his earlier statement. Kiev is not currently encircled. But, they suspect it will be soon.
What are you watching?
Sky News has 24 hour coverage from Kyiv here:
https://news.sky.com/watch-live
Here is a page of News articles from all over the world updated every 5 minutes:
https://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/World+News/Europe/Eastern+Europe/Ukraine
Most of your coverage in this article is just crap!
This:
Russia recognizes Donbass republics on eve of war w/Russell “Texas” Bentley in Donetsk
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Mfv2M9q8vc
We in in the midst of the fog of war.
And the fog is particularly thick in this one since the establishment/legacy media in the West, much of it partially government funded, has an incentive to pump out as much propaganda as possible. To support intervention. Because that’s what the ruling class wants. For several reasons.
Covid fear porn is no longer effective. So the Western globalist ruling class needs to keep the sheeple in a pliable state of fear over something else they can use as a tool of distraction and manipulation. They also want to make more money off a newly invigorated military-industrial complex.
I believe nothing I read or hear anywhere at this point.
One thing I do believe… The constantly repeated assertion that Ukraine is a ‘democracy’ that we must defend is BS. It’s propaganda. Ukraine is a corrupt autocratic kleptocracy masquerading as a ‘democracy’. The people running Ukraine intervened in our 2020 election by omission. By hiding and covering up the truth about the Bidens’ corrupt financial dealings in their nation. And by letting a baseless impeachment they could have short circuited proceed.
I have no great desire to see them once again subjected to rule by Russia, as they were for over 300 years before 1991. And I wish them luck. But it’s not our problem.
Much needed clarity. Thanks,
Epecially this:
“The people running Ukraine intervened in our 2020 election by omission. By hiding and covering up the truth about the Bidens’ corrupt financial dealings in their nation. And by letting a baseless impeachment they could have short circuited proceed.”
What fog do you see? There’s no fog. It’s all clear. You’re just refusing to see.
I agree with you. It’s not our fight. Still, I know what side I’d be on.
https://www.mhistory.net/zaporozhian-cossacks-letter-to-sultan-mehmed-iv/#:~:text=Zaporozhian%20Cossacks%E2%80%99%20letter%20to%20Sultan%20Mehmed%20IV%20It,fact%20that%20the%20letter%20is%20authentic%20or%20not.
“O sultan, Turkish devil and damned devil’s kith and kin, secretary to Lucifer himself, Greetings! What the devil kind of knight are you, that can’t slay a hedgehog with your naked arse? The devil excretes, and your army eats. You will not, you son of a bitch, make subjects of Christian sons; we’ve no fear of your army, by land and by sea we will battle with thee, fuck your mother….”
I hope the good professor let’s this stand. Because I’m a huge fan of famous last stands. And this was in their letter to the Ottoman Turks who demanded their surrender. In the name of historical accuracy, I hope it stays.
I’m not sure it matters if Ukraine is a democracy or corrupt autocratic kleptocracy (though the latter is more accurate). People are reacting to Russia’s naked aggression here, its war on a country that wants no part of Putin’s crazy plans to rebuild the USSR.
In some ways it’s like what the American left is doing here (though obviously not through all-out warfare): they are trying to “fundamentally transform” a nation of free people who love their country into . . . God alone knows what evil empire.
It’s one thing for Ukrainians to accept–many very grudgingly–whatever their own form of government, but it’s quite another for Russia to overrule that and use naked aggression to subjugate a people who have no interest at all in being part of the new USSR.
Putin has already signaled that he won’t stop with Ukraine, and he’s raised the stakes quite considerably by invoking his massive nuclear power. This won’t end well. We’re on the path to another world war at this point, and yes, that will affect America and Americans because we will be dragged into it kicking and screaming only after some Pearl Harbor-level event that makes it impossible for us to stay out of it. It’s all very worrying.
If Putin could be assassinated, does he have loyalists that would automatically launch nuclear missiles? Or is it possible that could end this.
I’m not a fan of using profanity gratuitously.
https://www.unclesamsmisguidedchildren.com/uss-samuel-b-roberts/
“During the Battle off Samar, the men of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) showed extraordinary fighting spirit against overwhelming odds. The crew went toe to toe and defeated two heavy cruisers and attempted to rescue their own ship during a barrage by four Japanese battleships. On October 25, 1944, the only thing stopping Japan’s last fleet of 23 heavy ships, including the super battleship Yamato, from intercepting the US landings in the Philippines were a few planes with no anti-ship armament, three destroyers, and the one tiny destroyer escort, USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). Sammy B will be forever remembered as the destroyer escort ‘that fought like a battleship.’”
In case you don’t know, the Sammy B went bottom to the bottom fighting it out with the Japanese center battle force.
I’m old. Not that old. Still, I’ve known all my life I have a lot to live up to.
https://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2016/02/fullbore-friday_12.html
“Let me set the stage for you.
You have had a fairly successful career for a Naval Officer. The highlights included shortly after Commissioning, finding yourself in the middle of an insurrection overseas. With a grab bag of Allies, the insurrection is put down, and due to your actions, you get a quick promotion to Lieutenant.
You continue to excel and a dozen years later you find yourself promoted to Commander. War comes soon thereafter, and a successful series of ships later, you are promoted to Captain and shortly after the war ends given Command of a Cruiser.
Peacetime was not good for you though. Less than a year after Command at Sea, you find yourself at Court Martial for insubordination during your Shore Command. You survive the Court Martial…”
How incredibly convenient that all this military aid from Europe is being made available now that its virtually impossible to get white it’s needed 🤔
Why it’s almost as if Russia has Europe by its fucking balls!
Worth keeping a tab open on Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Brigade (LITPOLUKRBRIG).
Putin used groups of Chetniks during the 2014 Crimean campaign:
http://warincontext.org/2014/03/09/this-is-what-occupation-looks-like-russian-provocation-and-serbian-chetniks-in-crimea/
Every ship entering or exiting the Black Sea is photographed transiting the Bosphorus strait: https://turkishnavy.net/
Once in a while Informnapalm offers interesting stuff: https://informnapalm.org/en/
Think about Ukraine leader, standing firm wanting bullets, not a ride out of the country, and Biden who cowers in his basement with visions of for corn pop dancing in his head, and Trudeau, who hid in shame, counting his stockings…
Maybe Ukrain will survive, I’m sure Utin thought it would be over by now
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/02/ukraine_to_putin_never_again.html
Zelensky is a puppet.
Biden is a mentally retarded puppet.
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2022/02/19/china-wants-to-buy-100-million-metric-tons-of-coal-from-russia/
Yeah, baby! Norms restored.
I’m not saying China has signed a contract. Just that’s the kind of shit China would do.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3110554/chinese-cash-funds-african-coal-plant-building-despite
Have I mentioned looking south from the Bering Strait and seeing the smog from the Arctic?
The smog from the Arctic. You can see the smog from China.
Waves of chinese smog wash over South Korea every day.