Quote from: Tash on Today at 06:18:55 AM

Quote from: TwitchySeal on Today at 03:35:46 AM

Quote from: cabron on Today at 02:49:05 AM

..............
Don't you think Ukraine should be able to decide which alliance they join?

They can join whatever alliance they want once the breakaway republics have broken away.
Or are you of the opinion people can not break away and have a free choice?
,,,

On the contrary they have a free choice. Free means that you do not have Putin's army shelling your cities. Unless you are of the opinion that someone pointing a gun to your head is being free (which you might, given your posting history).

If Putin were there to "give people choice" why does he not celebrate a referendums in peace and with international observers and let the press speak freely and allow opposition candidates out of jail. I mean, those that he did not kill already for speaking in public about him.. And that too in Georgia, Syria.

Putin is not "freeing" anyone, he wants all under his thumb. You may not understand this, but other people do not accept this without fighting.

Quote from: be.open on Today at 06:08:25 AM

Quote from: Ultegra134 on April 23, 2022, 07:03:12 PM

It's been 2 months since the Russian invasion, despite Ukraine's resistance, war maps show that Putin is actually gaining ground, especially after the fall of Mariupol, ...

I think that Nikolaev, Kharkov and Odessa are now facing a difficult choice...

The decision is not difficult: I someone tries to take your home, you resist. You have been living under a despot for so long that you think is a difficult decision. You have lost your will to be free, even perhaps convincing yourself that is better this way so that you do not have to do anything risky. Chairborne totally.

Mariupol still has not fallen and even Putin recognised it in his farcical appearance with his chief psycho, while holding the table as if it was to run away from him.

Quote from: be.open on Today at 06:08:25 AM

It is very difficult to predict which direction Russia has a higher priority now ...

No is not. The gas and iron ore and industry of the Donbas. Encircling the Ukranian army south of Izum, taking Mariupol and, if they observe weakness, trying a push for Odessa.

But politically, trying to present some short of victory by May 9th and hiding the losses to the people of Russia.

Quote from: be.open on Today at 06:08:25 AM

Meanwhile, the Guardian published an article with the results of the work of forensic experts, who found that "dozens" of Bucha residents from mass graves were killed by small darts from artillery shrapnel shells.

From the article:

Quote

Dozens of civilians who died during the Russian occupation of the Ukrainian city of Bucha were killed by tiny metal arrows from shells of a type fired by Russian artillery, forensic doctors have said
...
According to a number of witnesses in Bucha, fléchette rounds were fired by Russian artillery a few days before forces withdrew from the area at the end of March.

Quote

“It is very hard to find those in the body, they are too thin.

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According to Neil Gibson, a weapons expert at the UK-based Fenix Insight group, who has reviewed the photos of the fléchettes found in Bucha, the metal darts came from a 122mm 3Sh1 artillery round, in use by Russian artillery.

There are 8000 of this "flechettes" in a shell. There is only one possible use for it when fired on a civilian area.