12 votes

Weekly megathread for news/updates/discussion of Russian invasion of Ukraine - February 23

This thread is posted weekly on Thursday - please try to post relevant content in here, such as news, updates, opinion articles, etc. Especially significant updates may warrant a separate topic, but most should be posted here.

If you'd like to help support Ukraine, please visit the official site at https://help.gov.ua/ - an official portal for those who want to provide humanitarian or financial assistance to people of Ukraine, businesses or the government at the times of resistance against the Russian aggression.

17 comments

  1. [6]
    NoblePath
    Link
    Washington Post reports that India, many African countries, and others are, if not sympathetic to Russia, highly distrustful of the U.S. Notably, trade between Russia and India has increased 400%...

    Washington Post reports that India, many African countries, and others are, if not sympathetic to Russia, highly distrustful of the U.S. Notably, trade between Russia and India has increased 400% since the start of the war.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/22/global-south-russia-war-divided/

    7 votes
    1. [5]
      cmccabe
      Link Parent
      Thanks NoblePath; great article. There was another very good article about India's position on this war in the NYT a few weeks back. Like the WP article you posted, it highlights the major...

      Thanks NoblePath; great article. There was another very good article about India's position on this war in the NYT a few weeks back. Like the WP article you posted, it highlights the major geopolitical instabilities (which some obviously see as opportunities) behind the war. It also addresses the growing narrative of rising authoritarianism across the globe, focusing here on Modi's strengthening grip on India, which he is achieving partly by exploiting the sentiments of Hindu nationalism. I don't know a lot about modern day Indian politics so it was a very enlightening read for me. The other big theme of the article was that hesitancy about taking sides against Russia is a result of many decades of an unreliable and abusive relationship between the US and many countries in the world.

      Russia’s War Could Make It India’s World (NYT, paywall)
      alt source (no paywall)

      3 votes
      1. [4]
        NaraVara
        Link Parent
        Honestly the Modi angle on this is way overstated. There is a broad consensus across parties in India on foreign policy and Jaishankar is acknowledged across the board as one of the most capable...

        The other big theme of the article was that hesitancy about taking sides against Russia is a result of many decades of an unreliable and abusive relationship between the US and many countries in the world.

        Honestly the Modi angle on this is way overstated. There is a broad consensus across parties in India on foreign policy and Jaishankar is acknowledged across the board as one of the most capable and consequential foreign ministers the country has ever had. The Congress Party recently tried to drag him ahead of elections and was immediately slapped for it by even the friendly/liberal media sources.

        I do not think India's position in this conflict would be meaningfully different if any of the other large parties was in charge, though if it was the AAP it would probably be less competently managed.

        The only meaningful factions who break from the consensus on geopolitics tend to be the Marxist ones, and that's mostly because they're in China's pocket. But even they're not anti-Russia for obvious reasons. If anything, they're more pro-Russia than the BJP is. They hate America more than anyone.

        It's also important not to underrate India's dependence on Russian military technology. They have undertaken a broad initiative to "indigenize" their arms production, and a big part of their trade with Russia is reversing the flow of munitions manufacturing (so India net exporting parts and ammo to Russia instead of the other way around) which functionally bootstraps India's manufacturing base. Unfortunately for them, there really isn't anywhere else they can go for cutting edge military tech. China is out for obvious reasons, and the USA is heavy handed about using the arms trade as a lever to strong-arm countries in diplomacy in ways Indians really do not like.

        We tend to hold India to pretty ridiculous double standards about this stuff too. We'll sell to the Saudis or Pakistan without a second thought, but every little episode of political unrest in India seems to invite congressional review and outsized public condemnation. These sorts of antics have made even liberal Indians suspicious of the US as an ally, even if they have very positive opinions of the US as a country.

        7 votes
        1. [3]
          cmccabe
          Link Parent
          Yes, I probably oversummarized, but the article did not claim that Indian hesitancy toward taking sides was attributable to Modi or his party. In fact, it heavily looked at Jaishankar who made...

          Honestly the Modi angle on this is way overstated.

          Yes, I probably oversummarized, but the article did not claim that Indian hesitancy toward taking sides was attributable to Modi or his party. In fact, it heavily looked at Jaishankar who made very reasonable, general arguments about why India is taking the position it is. I felt the article was very good about not portraying India's position in a negative light, but rather explaining how it has arisen due to many of the conditions you described. I think this is very valuable because US news about the Russia/Ukraine war tends to ignore the factors weighing on these decisions and to instead depict neutral countries as somehow corrupt.

          Although I am somewhat aware of India's military tech pickle, both in terms of their historical dependency on Russian weapons, the awkward relationship with US weaponry, and their hostile relationship with neighboring China; I was not aware of the movement to increase domestic arms production. I guess that really shouldn't be surprising at all though.

          2 votes
          1. [2]
            NaraVara
            Link Parent
            They not only want to enhance domestic production for self-sufficiency reasons, but they aspire to become a major arms supplier similar to Israel and Germany. They are particularly interested in...

            They not only want to enhance domestic production for self-sufficiency reasons, but they aspire to become a major arms supplier similar to Israel and Germany. They are particularly interested in fostering arms deals with countries in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific regions to promote stronger military ties and a broad alliance base against China.

            3 votes
            1. cmccabe
              Link Parent
              Interesting. Thanks for adding that. I’ll look around to read more.

              Interesting. Thanks for adding that. I’ll look around to read more.

              1 vote
  2. mycketforvirrad
    Link
    Russians hunting property in Finland hit a new wall of suspicion Politico – Charlie Duxbury – 23rd February 2023

    Russians hunting property in Finland hit a new wall of suspicion

    In October, three Russian citizens arrived in the border town of Imatra, Finland and filed the paperwork to buy a rambling former old people’s home outside the small town of Kankaanpää, a five-hour drive away in Finland’s southwestern reaches.

    The applicants ticked a box saying the property would be used for “leisure or recreational purposes” and all gave the same contact email and street address: a nondescript suburban apartment block in Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg.

    The story didn’t fly. Two months later, the Finnish defense ministry announced it had blocked the purchase, citing national security concerns to justify the move — the first time such reasoning had been used during the war on Ukraine.

    The authorities’ problem with the transaction was a simple one: the building was a stone’s throw from the Niinisalo Garrison, an army training center for troops assigned to national defense and overseas operations. In May last year, the joint Finnish and NATO training exercise Arrow 22 — testing the readiness of armored brigades — was run out of the garrison.

    Politico – Charlie Duxbury – 23rd February 2023

    5 votes
  3. cmccabe
    Link
    One year ago tomorrow, Putin stated, "I have decided to conduct a special military operation", and the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Putin, and military analysts from around the world,...

    One year ago tomorrow, Putin stated, "I have decided to conduct a special military operation", and the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Putin, and military analysts from around the world, thought the war would be over in a few days; but now a year later, the scale of death and destruction is immense and the war doesn't have an obvious end in sight. It is really sobering to think back over this year. Some estimates put Russian military deaths at over 150,000, with similar figures in Ukraine, especially if you add in civilian deaths. And again, no obvious end in sight.

    5 votes
  4. AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    'They wanted children': Ukrainian doctors say they lied to keep kids safe from Russian troops

    'They wanted children': Ukrainian doctors say they lied to keep kids safe from Russian troops

    There were moments during last year's Russian occupation of Kherson, that shell-battered city in Ukraine's south, when Dr. Olah Piliarska thought her secret had been discovered and she and her fellow physicians would be arrested.

    They came close.

    Luckily, the deception remained intact. Piliarska and her staff outwitted the Russians and bided their time until the city was liberated.

    And because of her efforts, at least five children at the Kherson Regional Children's Hospital were saved from being taken to Russia for adoption — through an apparently deliberate campaign by Moscow to seize Ukrainian children orphaned by the war it started.

    The open adoption of Ukrainian children by Russian families is an emotionally explosive topic in Ukraine.

    Piliarska and her staff falsified the children's medical records, giving them fake medical conditions that made it appear they were too ill to be moved from the neonatal ward, let alone hundreds of kilometres east to Russia.

    5 votes
  5. AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    How the U.S. Adopted a New Intelligence Playbook to Expose Russia’s War Plans

    How the U.S. Adopted a New Intelligence Playbook to Expose Russia’s War Plans

    A year ago, the United States did something extraordinary — it released previously classified intelligence that exposed Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine.

    Last week, Antony J. Blinken, the secretary of state, made a similar move when he warned China’s top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, against providing weapons to Russia.

    In a previous era, the warning might have remained private, at least for some time. But a new intelligence playbook honed just before and during the war in Ukraine has redefined how the United States uses its classified knowledge to undercut Russia and its partners.

    5 votes
  6. AugustusFerdinand
    Link
    A 30 minute video from the ABC: A Year after invasion, Russian propaganda has gone insane to fuel Putin's war | Foreign Correspondent Accompanying article:...

    A 30 minute video from the ABC: A Year after invasion, Russian propaganda has gone insane to fuel Putin's war | Foreign Correspondent

    On the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the propaganda war being waged by President Putin has become more extreme. Russian citizens are being repeatedly told that Ukraine is being run by LGBT Nazis and President Vlodomyr Zelensky is a drug addict and a sexual pervert.

    Independent Russian journalists forced to flee the country have found sanctuary in neighbouring Latvia where they are now broadcasting factual news about the war into their former homeland via YouTube. On Foreign Correspondent, reporter Eric Campbell, also on Russia’s banned list, travels to Latvia to meet the journalists who have taken great risks to fight the propaganda war.

    In the capital Riga, Eric interviews Latvian President Egils Levits, one of Ukraine’s most ardent supporters. His government is allowing NATO troops to train in his country amidst fears Latvia too could suffer the same fate as Ukraine.

    Accompanying article: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-23/russia-information-war-latvia-exiled-media-tv-rain/101956932

    4 votes
  7. cmccabe
    Link
    The real reason for China's charm offensive over Ukraine and Russia https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64754510 One year into the Russian war in Ukraine, China has released a proposal for...

    The real reason for China's charm offensive over Ukraine and Russia
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64754510

    One year into the Russian war in Ukraine, China has released a proposal for ending the war. This BBC article analyzes that proposal and suggests that it is more about testing geopolitical fault lines and attempting to realign the current world order away from the US and toward China than it is about actual peace in Ukraine.

    4 votes
  8. streblo
    Link
    Long piece from The Guardian on Mariupol.

    Long piece from The Guardian on Mariupol.

    3 votes
  9. cmccabe
    Link
    Belarus opposition says it damaged Russian warplane https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64782626 Opposition appears alive and well in Belarus. In this case, a Russian A-50 at an airport near...

    Belarus opposition says it damaged Russian warplane
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64782626

    Opposition appears alive and well in Belarus. In this case, a Russian A-50 at an airport near Minsk was damaged by a drone strike. The A-50 is "an airborne command centre used for directing Russian air strikes".

    Aliksandr Azarov, leader of Belarusian anti-government organisation BYPOL, claimed responsibility for the attack on Telegram.

    3 votes
  10. skybrian
    Link
    Discreetly, and at peril, Russian volunteers help Ukrainian refugees (Washington Post)

    Discreetly, and at peril, Russian volunteers help Ukrainian refugees (Washington Post)

    These volunteers are not linked to each other, and are not part of an organization. They often do not live in the same city and, for safety, most of them will never see each other in person. The common denominator is the risk they face from the Russian security forces, who are suspicious of citizen initiatives and have cracked down on all manner of civil society groups.

    The independent volunteers do all kinds of things. Some work from home processing help requests. Others help care for pets, gather food, clothing and medicine, or deliver to makeshift warehouses. Hosts who open their doors to Ukrainians or drivers who transport them across the Russian border face the steepest risk as they are ones interacting directly with refugees and the authorities.

    None of the volunteers’ activities are illegal but amid Russia’s wartime laws anything that involves Ukraine and does not fit with the current pro-war patriotic fervor is sensitive and regarded unfavorably by the security services.

    2 votes