Tag Archives: Russia

This afternoon.

Further to the emergence of a video allegedly showing the activities of a Ukraine army unit called Kraken, affiliated with the far-right National Corps, where footage included soldiers apparently shooting Russian prisoners of war in the legs…

…via BBC ‘Reality Check’:

The BBC has geo-located footage from this video to the village of Vilkhivka, 3.5 miles (5.6km) from Malaya Rohan. The weather is similarly sunny and dry.

The group said 30 Russians were taken prisoner in the village on 25 March and the Kraken video has footage of PoWs bound, blindfolded and being bundled into a van at one point and forced to sing the Ukrainian national anthem at another point. But there is no shooting or serious violence towards them.

The BBC contacted Konstantin Nemichev, head of the National Corps in the Kharkiv region. He said his forces treated prisoners “humanely” and denied any connection to the video of the alleged shootings at the dairy.

Meanwhile…

…In the most disturbing part of the video, three men appear to be shot in the legs at close range with an assault weapon.

There’s been some debate on social media as to whether the footage is genuine or staged, with some people claiming there isn’t enough blood, evidence of exit wounds or shouting and screaming from the victims for it to be real.

We showed the video to several trauma surgeons and former military doctors who gave us their expert opinion but wished to remain anonymous.

One said he had treated soldiers who had sustained gunshot injuries who didn’t shout or scream and said the lack of bleeding on some of the wounded soldiers could be explained by them having had a tourniquet applied (visible in the video).

He said: “It is my opinion that the footage cannot be categorised as ‘fake’ purely based on the images seen. This requires an investigation for war crimes.”

Another doctor said: “It appears genuine… these meet the description of punishment shootings to the limbs”.

Other people on social media pointed to the lack of apparent recoil on the assault rifle when it was fired, claiming it could have been firing blank rounds.

Mr Reynolds points out that the AK-74’s 5.45mm round is small-calibre and has very little recoil but he also added “the video quality isn’t great”.

The BBC is continuing efforts to verify this video and will update this piece if more evidence comes to light.

Previously: “We Are A European Army, And We Do Not Mock Our Prisoners”

Does video show Russian prisoners being shot? (BBC)

This afternoon.

Earlier…

From top: The Russian Ambassador to Ireland Yury Anatoliyevich Filatov; The Russian Embassy, Dublin 6

Gulpski.

This afternoon.

More as we get it.

RollingNews

Last night.

Washington DC, USA

US President Joe Biden stood by his belief that Vladimir Putin should not be president of Russia, telling reporters that he made “no apologies” for his unscripted remarks.

Via Huffington Post:

“I’m not walking anything back,” the president said..

“I was expressing moral outrage, and I make no apologies,” he added.

Speaking in Poland at the end of his four-day trip to Europe on Sunday, Biden said of Putin, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.”

The line came at the end of a 27-minute speech and was ad-libbed by a president famous for doing so.

Joe Biden: ‘No Apologies’ For Saying Putin ‘Cannot Remain In Power’ (Huffington Post)

Meanwhile…

Ah here.

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Saturday.

Via Al Jazeera:

In a surprise appearance at the Doha Forum international conference, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensk called on energy-producing countries to step in so that Moscow cannot use its oil and gas wealth to “blackmail” other nations.

Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom has said it is continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers.

On Friday, EU leaders ‘promised’ to end the bloc’s dependence on Russian energy.

Russia’s Gazprom says gas exports to Europe via Ukraine continue (Al Jazeera)

Meanwhile…

Russia supplies nearly 40% of the European Union’s natural gas and over 25% of the region’s crude oil. Although the global oil cartel known as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other non-OPEC oil-exporting nations played down concerns of a global oil shortage as the war drags on, many industry players fear a potential demand destruction that could cause oil demand to peak and fall when pump prices become too expensive.

To reinstate the balance in oil supply and demand especially during wintertime in Europe, EU-based importers of Russian oil could then choose to yield to Putin’s demands and pay in rubles.

However, EU leaders, shortly after Putin’s announcement, stood firm and rejected the Kremlin’s demands, with Slovenia Prime Minister Janez Jansa saying “nobody will pay in rubles,” Bloomberg News reported. The message was backed by leaders of Ireland, Italy, Croatia, and Germany, among others, ahead of a summit meeting in Brussels. The leaders stressed that Putin’s demand would be in violation of their existing contracts.

Will importers cave into Putin’s gas for Rubles demand? (FX Street)

Friday: No Pleasing Some People

Warning: very graphic video.

Last night/this morning:

A Ukrainian official promised an “immediate investigation” on Sunday after graphic videos made the rounds on social media over the weekend, reportedly showing beaten and bloodied captured Russian soldiers being shot in the legs by Ukrainian forces.

The commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, however, accused Russia of “staging videos” showing the “inhumane attitude” of what are purported to be Ukrainian military members toward Russian prisoners of war.

“The government is taking this very seriously, and there will be an immediate investigation,” senior presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in an interview on Sunday. “We are a European army, and we do not mock our prisoners. If this turns out to be real, this is absolutely unacceptable behavior.”

Ukraine to investigate after video shows alleged Russian POWs being shot: Zelensky aide (Washington Examiner)

Meanwhile…

…via Russian State-owned RT:

Russia has launched a probe after graphic video emerged online, purporting to show the torture of prisoners of war at the hands of Ukrainian servicemen.

“The video circulating online shows captured soldiers being shot in the legs without medical assistance,” the country’s Investigative Committee said in a statement on Sunday.

Multiple disturbing clips apparently filmed at the same unknown facility, emerged online over the weekend.

The footage shows multiple people, apparently Russian prisoners of war, lying on the ground. All of the servicemen appear to be heavily beaten and have leg wounds.

Russia investigates alleged footage of Ukrainian troops torturing POWs (RT)

Monday.

Berdyansk, Ukraine.

Meanwhile…

This afternoon.

Berdyansk, Ukraine.

That’ll learn them.

It’s blowback!

This afternoon.

Further to the release last week of figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showing the price of fertiliser increased by 127% in the past year.

Social Democrats Agriculture Spokesperson Holly Cairns said:

“I met with local representatives of the Irish Farmers’ Association and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association this week to discuss the current challenges facing farmers and food producers, including the shortage of fertiliser.

“Since autumn, fertiliser prices have skyrocketed. Some farmers have only been able to buy a portion of what is needed for the year – while others have not been able to purchase any at all. This situation is made even worse with a shortage of supply which affects farmer’s capacity to grow sillage. The Minister for Agriculture must put in place a process to secure emergency access to fertiliser to prevent a crisis this winter.”

In 2020, nearly 266,000 tonnes of fertiliser compound was imported from Russia, close on 40% of Ireland’s total compound imports.

Deputy Cairns added:

“The Ukrainian conflict has again shown our dependence on global food chains. From potential shortages in wheat and sunflower oil, to the scarcity of fertiliser, we need a new approach to food security. The Department of Agriculture failed to learn the lessons from the pandemic. This crisis must be a wakeup call. We need policies that will ensure our food sovereignty.”

No poo, Sherlock.

Previously: Official figures confirm the soaring price of fertiliser

Shutterstock

 

This morning.

Further to the exclusion by the Dublin International Piano Competition of nine Russian pianists because of the war in Ukraine…

…via Irish Times Letters:

The Dublin Piano Competition has cancelled its Russian competitors (“Dublin piano competition’s move to ban Russian competitors faces criticism”). Do these people know the histories and opinions of the pianists concerned?

Our culture is obsessed with individual choice and a refusal to apply stereotypes. Until, it seems, we decide to tar entire nations with one brush. How ridiculous we are going to look in a few years.

Kevin O’Connell, Carlow.

Irish Times Letters

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

This afternoon

Further to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s weekend move to ban 11 left wing opposition parties…

…Via The Spectator:

The news that Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has banned eleven opposition parties – including the pro-Russian ‘Opposition – Platform For Life’ which holds 44 seats in the 450-member Ukrainian parliament and has spoken out against the Russian invasion – may be the embattled leader’s first major mistake in the month since Putin launched his brutal invasion.

…For Ukraine’s strongest card – the unique selling point that has drawn such sympathy and support from almost the entire democratic world – has been the fact that, in stark contrast to Putin’s repressive Russian state, it is – or was – a free country.

That means that it holds real elections, has a diverse media, and allows politicians critical of the government to get their views heard. All things that we take for granted but which have already disappeared or are fast vanishing in Putin’s prison state.

That difference drew a dramatic line between the society that the majority of Ukrainians wished to live in, and the big bad neighbour from hell next door. Tragically, Zelensky’s two moves fatally blur that line.

…The danger for Ukraine following these martial law moves is that, however well grounded the decisions are for reasons of its own security, they risk making the country resemble the Russian invader who cracks down on opposition and stifles critical voices. And the western nations that have so far been so solid in their support may start to ask themselves whether Ukraine is now treading a dangerous path.

…So is the suppression of opposition by Zelensky a sign of strength – a confident government acting ruthlessly to crackdown on the enemy within? Or is it a confession of weakness, an admission that beneath the veneer of unity and resistance there are many Ukrainians prepared to compromise or even collude and collaborate with the invader who is devastating their country? Either way, it is not a good look for a man who has been seen as the heroic symbol of freedom against tyranny.

Is Zelensky’s party crackdown his first mistake? (The Spectator)

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