(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Russian stuff blowing up: Merz declares victory in German elections [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-23
It’s election weekend in Germany with big implications for the Ukraine war. Scholz heads the SPD and Merz the CDU/CSU. Merz has said he would send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
x CDU/CSU just under 30% is still a win for Merz but symbolically being in the upper 20s will disappoint them. SPD has done badly but could have been worse. AfD gets a very good result but will still be disappointed because they vastly overestimate their realistic potential.
[image or embed] — Alexander Clarkson (@aphclarkson.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 11:18 AM
The far-right AfD won in the former DDR.
Demonstrations in support of Ukraine ahead of Monday’s anniversary have already started around the world.
Ukrainian drone operators fly into a concrete garage with Russian armored vehicles and calmly discuss which one they should blow up.
x Ukrainian drone operators hit a fortified Russian equipment parking lot in a concrete shelter using an FPV drone with fiber optics in Selydove! The strike took out two APCs (BMP-1s) and a truck.
Full video: t.me/wartranslated
[image or embed] — WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 6:41 AM
A mighty bavovna!
The audio is in Ukrainian except for a few choice English phrases.
Another Russian armored column gets chewed up by drones.
Ukraine bombed something in Toropets. Whatever it is, it burns nicely.
Toropets is between Moscow and the Latvian border. It has a large ammo depot that was attacked in September.
Russia struck in Kryvyi Rih, damaging a church.
x Russian ballistic strike on Kryvyi Rih damaged a church. One person was killed, five more injured. Will Russia lie NATO troops were in the church?
[image or embed] — Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 1:42 AM
This Russian commander has a new way to punish soldiers — sacrifice them to Ukrainian drones.
x 🤮🤮🤮 HUMAN SACRIFICES IN THE RUSSIAN ARMY For desertion and disobedience to orders, the commander ordered the soldier to be tied to a tree right on the battlefield. In the Russian army, this punishment is called "a sacrifice to Baba Yaga."
[image or embed] — PS01 (@pstyleone1.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 8:05 AM
Budanov says Russia is planning a big assault for tomorrow’s third anniversary of the invasion.
x ❗️ "Bombers are fully loaded with missiles," - GUR chief Kyrylo Budanov comments on a potential massive Russian missile attack on February 24.
[image or embed] — NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) February 23, 2025 at 6:22 AM
x 🇺🇦🙏 Zelensky: On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 attack drones — the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities. In total, 1,150 attack drones, 1,400 guided aerial bombs and 35 missiles of various types were launched this week.
[image or embed] — The Ukrainian Review (@theukrainianreview.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Zelenskyy isn’t sugarcoating it today.
x “With all due respect, we do not recognize Ukraine’s $500 billion debt to the US” — Zelensky “I do not recognize even $100 billion. We agreed with Biden that this was a grant! A grant is not a debt.” — Kyiv Post (@kyivpost.com) February 23, 2025 at 8:59 AM
x 😳👏 I am not signing something that will be paid by 10 generations of Ukrainians, — Zelensky on the agreement with the US ❗️“I know how to sign deals with serious guys - to remain friends, but to understand how you will part ways.” — MAKS 24 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Russia claims it has used 3,000 Lancet drones since the first summer of the war.
x Russian sources are claiming that a total of 3000 Lancet drones were used in combat since July 2022. t.me/ZalaAero/442
[image or embed] — Samuel Bendett (@sambendett.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Switzerland steps up.
x Switzerland could send around 200 soldiers for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if there's a request and the government agrees. However, these are just hypothetical discussions for now, as peace isn’t yet in sight. This was reported by Reuters. www.reuters.com/world/europe...
[image or embed] — WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Ukraine continues to develop its weapons industry.
x 🇺🇦 Ukraine managed to produce 154 artillery systems last year, and this is a record. This year, Ukraine plans to cover 50% of the necessary weapons, - Zelensky ❗️“It will be difficult for us without US help, but we will fight.”
[image or embed] — The Ukrainian Review (@theukrainianreview.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 9:40 AM
If this war could be fought with nothing but drones, Ukraine wouldn’t need any western assistance.
x #Ukraine has become the world's #1 producer of drones- Defense Minister Umerov These drones allow AFU to compensate for the advantage that Russia has over them in artillery.Long-range drones can reach a distance of 1700 km away Ukraine domestically procures 96%of the drones used on the battlefield
[image or embed] — Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 8:01 AM
x 🦅🐝🔥 "I said we would make 1 million drones in 2024 - we made 2.2 million FPV and 100,000 deep-strike drones. This year there will be more," — Zelensky
[image or embed] — MAKS 24 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 9:36 AM
“Anything we can get”
The shakedown continues — and right out in the open.
x ⚡️'We're going to get our money back' — Trump on US-Ukraine resources deal. "I want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up," Trump said on Feb. 22. "We're asking for rare earth and oil — anything we can get."
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 22, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Elon: Who? Me?
x Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has denied reports that the United States threatened to shut off Starlink in Ukraine unless Kyiv agreed to a minerals deal. Responding to a report by Reuters, Musk called the claim "false" and accused the news agency of lying.
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 22, 2025 at 2:05 PM
x There are already alternatives to "Starlink", there will soon be concrete statements and decisions , - Defense Minister Umerov. — Orion412 (@orion412x.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Europe has gotten serious about making sure Ukraine gets what it needs without American aid.
x ⚡️EU considers confiscating part of Russia’s frozen $280 billion, Bloomberg reports. The European Union is discussing how to seize Russia’s frozen central bank assets to provide financial and military aid to Ukraine, as concerns grow that the United States may scale back its support.
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 22, 2025 at 1:43 PM
A Russian blogger discusses how Ukraine is using its F-16s.
F-16 flights have been recorded almost daily over the past week. Initially, the aircraft flew to the border of the Poltava and Sumy regions before turning back. Their actions resembled reconnaissance of flight routes before active deployment. They operate in groups of three aircraft-one F-16 and two MiG-29s. The MiG-29s serve not only as escort fighters but also conduct strikes, being armed with JDAM and HAMMER guided bombs.
The MiG-29s fly close to the border, while the American aircraft remain at a distance. Most likely, the F-16s act as "hunters" targeting our aviation.
Colleagues have reported that the F-16s are armed with AIM-120C air-to-air missiles.
Another Russian blogger is rather despondent.
If your country is in crisis, the solution is not to wage genocide on somebody else.
Perhaps, three years ago, we all desperately wanted this war, this crisis, to wake our country up from a thirty-year bad dream-to bring it to its senses, to make it start seriously fighting for the survival of its people or at least the country, rather than for the well-being of certain "outstanding" individuals. We wanted this, and we did everything in our power to ensure that this awakening call of historical fate reached the right ears, that it was not lost. For some, it cost their lives, for others, their careers, for others still, their faith in themselves and in a bright future. But we did what had to be done.
And yet, it seems we have suffered defeat. We have lost this battle. There is still a chance for victory in the SMO, but the chance that it will heal or awaken Russia is gone. This means only one thing: we must live and raise the younger generation so that our Motherland does not miss the next chance. We have only one, and we have no right to betray her -- even if at times it feels as though she has betrayed us.
x Vatniks are in a bleak mood ahead of the 3rd anniversary of the meat grinder they unleashed. They wanted war to "wake Russia up," but it just lost. Now they scramble for meaning, claiming they must "raise the younger generation" so they don’t miss the "next chance."
[image or embed] — WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 3:07 AM
A city in Russia northeast of Belgorod with about 220k residents that suffered 11 casualties during the war in Afghanistan has already suffered 252 in Ukraine.
x Russian propaganda today admitted 252 soldiers from just the town of Stary Oskol died in Ukraine, this extrapolates to 350,000 total dead.
Zelensky estimated Russian casualties in the war on Ukraine 3 weeks ago:
- 350k Russian soldiers killed
- 50k-70k missing
- 600k-700k wounded
[image or embed] — Igor Sushko (@igorsushko.bsky.social) February 22, 2025 at 3:31 PM
From a leaked database detailing Russian wounded.
Most of the soldiers hospitalized were rank-and-file troops. The database includes nearly 90,000 privates, 40,000 sergeants, 15,000 corporals, 7,000 lieutenants, 2,700 warrant officers, over 3,000 captains, 2,100 majors, 1,000 lieutenant colonels, 381 colonels, more than 30 major generals, 10 lieutenant generals, and one colonel general. In February 2022, officers accounted for 17 percent of the wounded, but by June 2024, their share had dropped to six percent. According to Radio Svoboda, these numbers reflect a problem the Russian army faced at the outset of its full-scale war against Ukraine: due to communication issues, junior officers had to remain on the front lines with their units, leading to high casualty rates. Starting in the summer of 2022, as Ukraine received its first HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems and began striking command posts near the front, officers were gradually moved farther from frontline positions. Since then, officer casualties have declined. The ratio of severe injuries to moderate ones is approximately one to 10, and the ratio of severe to minor ones, one to 20. These are only rough estimates, as the severity of injuries is not always recorded in the database. The number of lightly and moderately wounded soldiers rose during Russia’s offensives in Ukraine, but the number of severely wounded has remained relatively stable. Meanwhile, soldiers with minor injuries are required to return to the front after being discharged from the hospital. This policy is part of Vladimir Putin’s 2022 mobilization decree, which remains officially in effect. The database also contains over 3,200 diagnoses that include the word “amputation.” Many limb amputations are classified as “minor injuries,” despite this contradicting Russian legal standards. One example is 60-year-old Junior Sergeant Artur Yegorov, who suffered a mine blast injury in 2022 and lost his right leg — yet the database lists him as “lightly wounded.” Another case is 19-year-old Private Vladimir Golsky, who was hospitalized in 2024 with a diagnosis of “traumatic amputation of the left foot,” yet his injury is recorded as “moderate.” Golsky is one of the youngest soldiers with an amputation listed in the GVMU database. The most common diagnoses in the database are ones containing the term “shrapnel wound,” which appears in nearly 70,000 cases. Limbs are mentioned around 100,000 times. “The nature of most of these injuries is more or less the same,” Zhilyaev confirms. “Shrapnel wounds to the arms and legs are by far the most common.” During winters, military hospitals see a rise in patients with mental disorders and burns, often sustained while trying to keep warm in dugouts. Over the past two and a half years, hundreds of soldiers have been hospitalized for alcohol or drug poisoning — or exposure to “unknown substances.”
A Russian blogger dives into the phenomenon of Russian soldiers on crutches being sent back to the front.
x 1/ Russian warbloggers are protesting about numerous videos of crippled Russian soldiers on crutches being sent into assaults, or being used as 'bullet sponges' to identify where the Ukrainians are firing from. ⬇️
bsky.app/profile/wart...
[image or embed] — ChrisO_wiki (@chriso-wiki.bsky.social) February 22, 2025 at 2:25 PM
2/ Anastasia Kashevarova, who has written about the issue before, says that she is seeing videos from all fronts showing badly injured soldiers on the battlefield. She writes: "Why is this happening? There are two ways to go to war with a crutch or an Ilizarov apparatus: 3/ "Way 1. Discharged from the hospital, given 30 days of rehabilitation leave. If from Storm (that is, a convict), then he is immediately taken to the unit, and from there back to the front. 4/ "If he is a mobilised or contract soldier, then after leave he is obliged to return to the unit and undergo a military-medical commission (VVK) there, but the VVK can wait there for centuries,… 5/ …most likely, the commander will consider him healthy at his discretion and send him to stick a flag in a Ukrainian barn. Way 2. The wounded soldier was not sent to the hospital. 6/ "They brought him some plantain [extract] for an open lacerated wound, tied on a piece of wood, stitched him up as best they could, after giving him vodka to drink, and then treated him with ammonia (aka urine), since there was no vodka left. 7/ "You lie down for a week, and then it’s fine. On adrenaline, you can even get to Odesa.Many people tell me: “Well, what else can you do? We have to fight, we don’t have enough people.” ….. And what’s the use of these soldiers on crutches? Either he will surrender and then they will make videos of him cursing the generals at the enemy's place. Or die instantly. 10/ "The probability of such fighters completing a combat mission is zero. And if they send him with physically healthy ones, then he will only be a burden, and the survival rate of the entire group and its effectiveness decreases.
I don’t think those things will work very well trying to cross an open field.
x Looks like the Russians got a "cutting-edge combat tech" upgrade from Shoigu. Now, Russian army personnel will roll out to storm Ukrainian positions on hoverboards. Apparently, donkeys didn’t prove too effective in combat conditions.
[image or embed] — WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) February 23, 2025 at 4:46 AM
Russia certainly isn’t acting like it wants peace.
Another 1,180 Russians, but only 7 tanks.
I think we have found the cause of Russia’s declining population problem.
x In Russia, there is a growing interest in penis plastic surgery — demand has increased by 20%, especially among men over 40. Procedures using fillers and hyaluronic acid for enlargement are gaining popularity. At the same time, the cost of services has increased by 10% due to imported materials
[image or embed] — PS01 (@pstyleone1.bsky.social) February 22, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Slava Ukraini
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/2/23/2305633/-Russian-stuff-blowing-up-Merz-declares-victory-in-German-elections?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
