The Situation in the Ukraine. #4

Hannibal Barca wrote:So the situation is turning badly on the ground lately?

Pretty bad, towards horrible. Seps are losing so far.
There's talk of volunteers coming in from Russia, though unconfirmed.

macedonian wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:So the situation is turning badly on the ground lately?

Pretty bad, towards horrible. Seps are losing so far.
There's talk of volunteers coming in from Russia, though unconfirmed.

OK I see. Now I try to call some of my connections in Crimea to receive information. If this is the case then the fairy tails are coming to an end...

Hannibal Barca wrote:

macedonian wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:So the situation is turning badly on the ground lately?

Pretty bad, towards horrible. Seps are losing so far.
There's talk of volunteers coming in from Russia, though unconfirmed.

OK I see. Now I try to call some of my connections in Crimea to receive information. If this is the case then the fairy tails are coming to an end...

OK I spoke with a source I consider informed and reliable. I got encouraging messages.

He confirmed that there is deep involvement of American and Polish mercenaries.
He said that the preparations are accelerating and that the  pro Russian army is holding strong and re-enforcements from Russia keep coming.
He said that the rest (about retreating, let novarussia alone etc) are just PR he confirmed though that for the moment there is no discuss about Russian intervention but he sounded sure that Russia can simply not back down anymore
and that they are determined to carry the job through no matter what it takes.
He further said that Crimea preparing to receive LOTS of refugees and that Lugansk Slaviansk etc will evacuated from underage preparation meaning that they expect that the situation will get much more serious soon. The main camp is in Armiansk.
He finally said that the frontiers with Russia is uncontrolled meaning that Russia has a free hand to smuggle whatever considers necessary..

That's all for the moment.

Hannibal Barca wrote: OK I spoke with a source I consider informed and reliable. I got encouraging messages.....

Thank you very much. Your report give us some hope.
It's incredible how Russia's government is "made of ice" in these days. And with the D Day celebretions coming..
Terrible situation. Facts must be remembered however. Facts are NATO troops (and his ukrainian servants) are killing russian civilians. Sooner or later they must pay. Would be nice a payment in land, power and money, wich are what they care the most.
Sorry for the rant but I'm shocked by the news and even more by the western press attitude. Russians should not forget it.

Hannibal Barca wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:

macedonian wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:So the situation is turning badly on the ground lately?

Pretty bad, towards horrible. Seps are losing so far.
There's talk of volunteers coming in from Russia, though unconfirmed.

OK I see. Now I try to call some of my connections in Crimea to receive information. If this is the case then the fairy tails are coming to an end...

OK I spoke with a source I consider informed and reliable. I got encouraging messages.

He confirmed that there is deep involvement of American and Polish mercenaries.
He said that the preparations are accelerating and that the  pro Russian army is holding strong and re-enforcements from Russia keep coming.
He said that the rest (about retreating, let novarussia alone etc) are just PR he confirmed though that for the moment there is no discuss about Russian intervention but he sounded sure that Russia can simply not back down anymore
and that they are determined to carry the job through no matter what it takes.
He further said that Crimea preparing to receive LOTS of refugees and that Lugansk Slaviansk etc will evacuated from underage preparation meaning that they expect that the situation will get much more serious soon. The main camp is in Armiansk.
He finally said that the frontiers with Russia is uncontrolled meaning that Russia has a free hand to smuggle whatever considers necessary..

That's all for the moment.

Very good news...   

Time for Americans and Polish mercenaries to face now their chechen war .   

What will be good weapons for every soldier to carry?
i think aside of their assault rifles and sniper rifles ,everyone federation soldier should have at least ..
1)every soldier also armed with AK-74  AND dragonuv rifle..
2) RPG-7 with thermobaric head..
3)an armored  truck or apc used as storage filled with Konkurs missiles and grenade launchers and mortars .
4)a few Personal mines and anti tank mines if they need to retreat to delay advancement
5)Pickups trucks with heavy machine gun.. very effective.
6)of course manpads
7)Night vision equipment

And if possible small spy drones .there are stores that sells them as toys.. to have full awareness
of movement of troops.

In the Syrian war the most effective weapon that have caused the most casualties in the syrian army
are the SNiper Rifles and the Personal mines. Delays a LOT the clearing of cities..

and for sure when Russia choose to invade it will be cool to see this in action.. 



Anyone knows if Russian army have them in service yet?
The 40km range version will be more than enough for the job ,will allow the  Rebels to retaliate those nazi
shelling with mortars their cities ,there will be no safe place for them.  

Hannibal Barca wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:

macedonian wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:So the situation is turning badly on the ground lately?

Pretty bad, towards horrible. Seps are losing so far.
There's talk of volunteers coming in from Russia, though unconfirmed.

OK I see. Now I try to call some of my connections in Crimea to receive information. If this is the case then the fairy tails are coming to an end...

OK I spoke with a source I consider informed and reliable. I got encouraging messages.

He confirmed that there is deep involvement of American and Polish mercenaries.
He said that the preparations are accelerating and that the  pro Russian army is holding strong and re-enforcements from Russia keep coming.
He said that the rest (about retreating, let novarussia alone etc) are just PR he confirmed though that for the moment there is no discuss about Russian intervention but he sounded sure that Russia can simply not back down anymore
and that they are determined to carry the job through no matter what it takes.
He further said that Crimea preparing to receive LOTS of refugees and that Lugansk Slaviansk etc will evacuated from underage preparation meaning that they expect that the situation will get much more serious soon. The main camp is in Armiansk.
He finally said that the frontiers with Russia is uncontrolled meaning that Russia has a free hand to smuggle whatever considers necessary..

That's all for the moment.

Other than the unconfirmed mercs that all sounds pretty genuine.
Thanks for the reassurance, hope they hold fast! Once diplomatic contacts start resuming between Russia and the West, and Poroshenko is inaugerated, his room for manuever will shrink. Quickly. This is their last big shot at solving the situation through force, and they're putting everything they got into it.
Which isn't all that much. A constant flow of Russian reinforcements should be able to break the siege and ultimately evict them.

I`ve seen a lot of PR boasting from Ukrainian side today but no shred of evidence to confirm any of alleged military successes.

A reminder of how an analytical brain of a genius can predict things to come many years before they do:

Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Gulag Archipelago, Part 5, Chapter 2

Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote:… It pains me to write this as Ukraine and Russia are merged in my blood, in my heart, and in my thoughts. But extensive experience of friendly contacts with Ukrainians in the camps has shown me how much of a painful grudge they hold. Our generation will not escape from paying for the mistakes of our fathers.

To stamp one’s foot and shout: “This is mine!” is the easiest option. It is far more difficult to say: “Those who want to live, live!” Surprising as it may be, the Marxist teaching prediction that nationalism is fading has not come true. On the contrary, in an age of nuclear research and cybernetics, it has for some reason flourished. And time is coming for us, whether we like it or not, to repay all the promissory notes of self-determination and independence; do it ourselves rather than wait to be burnt at the stake, drowned in a river or beheaded. We must prove whether we are a great nation not with the vastness of our territory or the number of peoples in our care but with the greatness of our deeds. And with the depth of ploughing what we shall have left after those lands that will not want to stay with us secede.

With Ukraine, things will get extremely painful. But one has to understand the degree of tension they feel. As it has been impossible for centuries to resolve it, it is now down to us to show good sense. We must hand over the decision-making to them: federalists or separatists, whichever of them wins. Not to give in would be mad and cruel. The more lenient, patient, coherent we now are, the more hope there will be to restore unity in future.

Let them live it, let them test it. They will soon understand that not all problems are resolved through separation. (Since in different regions of Ukraine there is a different proportion of those who consider themselves Ukrainians, those who consider themselves Russians and those who consider themselves neither, there will be many difficulties there. Maybe it will be necessary to have a referendum in each region and then ensure preferential and delicate treatment of those who would want to leave. Not the whole of Ukraine in its current formal Soviet borders is indeed Ukraine. Some regions on the left bank [of the River Dnieper] clearly lean more towards Russia. As for Crimea, Khrushchev’s decision to hand it over to Ukraine was totally arbitrary. And what about Carpathian (Red) Ruthenia? That will serve as a test, too: while demanding justice for themselves, how just will the Ukrainians be to Carpathian Russians?)

Written in 1968; published in 1974


April 1981. Extract from a letter to the Toronto conference on Russian-Ukrainian relations, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute

I totally agree that the Russian-Ukrainian problem is one of the major current issues and, certainly, of crucial importance to our peoples. Yet, it seems to me that the red-hot passion and the resultant sizzling temperatures are pernicious to that cause.

…I have repeatedly stated and am reiterating here and now that no one can be retained by force, none of the antagonists should resort to coercion towards the other side or towards its own side, the people on the whole or any small minority it embraces, for each minority contains, in turn, its own minority… In all cases local opinion must be identified and implemented. Therefore, all issues can be truly resolved only by the local population rather than in remote arguments in émigré circles, whose perceptions are distorted.

...I find this fierce intolerance in the discussion of the Russian-Ukrainian problem (fatal for both nations and beneficial only for their enemies) particularly painful because I myself am of mixed Russian-Ukrainian origin, grew up under the joint influence of both these cultures and never saw and do not see any antagonism between them. I have on numerous occasions written and spoken in public about Ukraine and its people, about the tragedy of the Ukrainian famine; I have many old friends in Ukraine; I have always known that Russians’ and Ukrainians’ suffering were of the same order of suffering caused by Communism. In my heart, there is no place for a Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and if, God forbid, things get to the extreme, I can say: never, under any circumstances, will either I or my sons join in a Russian-Ukrainian clash, no matter how some hotheads may be pushing us towards one.

Published in Russkaya Mysl, June 18, 1981. In Russia, published for the first time in Zvezda magazine, No 12, 1993



The guy basically predicted everything that's going to happen almost half a century ago!
Oh, if only the people listened to wise men like him...
...fcuk it - now it is, what it is...and not-so-wise people will have to deal with the situation.

Ukrainian aircraft deliver new strike at village of Semyonovka near Sloviansk
On Tuesday, Ukrainian fighters and helicopter gunships delivered at least five strikes at Semyonovka and the village of Cherevkovka

TASS wrote:SLOVIANSK, June 04. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian aviation has delivered a new strike at the village of Semyonovka near Sloviansk, Donetsk region, a people's militia representative told ITAR-TASS on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian fighters and helicopter gunships delivered at least five strikes at Semyonovka and the village of Cherevkovka.

After a relatively calm night, the Ukrainian military resumed shelling the town, with artillery guns firing at one- to two-minute intervals.

Fierce fighting between people's militia and Ukrainian servicemen around Sloviansk continued throughout Tuesday. Ukraine’s National Guard began to shell Slavyansk approximately at 06.00 am local time, and attack aircraft fired at the nearby settlements of Semyonovka and Cherevkovka.

The scope of damage is not possible to estimate because these areas are still under fire. Militia fighters said Ukrainian aviation might have been protecting a column of armored vehicles moving towards the town.

Stella Khorosheva, spokeswoman for the people's mayor of Sloviansk, told ITAR-TASS that the June 3 fighting "was the longest since the start of clashes in Ukraine."

TASS

They need some serious kicking, these nazis!
Hope the seps receive enough manpads to deal with these types of situations.
Any news on the help getting there? Can't wait!

  

I found this:

Furthermore, Poroshenko must find a way out of the crisis in relations with Russia. He has repeatedly said that he does not recognize the annexation of Crimea. According to my sources, the current speaker of Russia’s parliament, Sergei Naryshkin, has contacted Acting President Alexander Turchinov several times, offering to withdraw the separatists from eastern Ukraine in exchange for recognition of the annexation of Crimea. In response, Turchinov advised him to hold such talks with the duly authorized and elected winner of the elections.

Don't know if true, but if so - it amounts to TREASON!
You can read the whole article here


Meanwhile Alec Luhn of the Guardian wrote on Twitter:

AlecLuhn wrote:As Ukrainians squeeze #Slavyansk, rebels are gaining border gateway of #Luhansk, taking national guard base & possibly border guard

So might be a clever strategy: the seps are engaging the Ukr army in Slavyansk, only to free a passage for reinforcements near Lugansk.
One can only hope.

Well, since no one else is posting, I guess it's up to me to carpet-bomb this thread   

Rumors on twitter:

1. National Guard unit in Lugansk capitulated to self-defence forces this morning (great news if true)
2. Many NazGuard "soldiers" are wounded and are @ the local hospital in Krasny Liman, according to Alexander Boroday
3. Self-defence in Lugansk send home captured soldiers - keep weapons, ammunitions and armoured vehicles (a very valiant move, but they'd make a good bargaining chip)
4. In  the recent attack on UA army convoy in Isyoum, Kharkov commander of airborne assault battalion was killed (hope it's true)
5. Again (Rumor!) that a number of Estonians were caught fighting for the Nazi squads
6. Connected to point No.3 - seems indeed the seps have won the border post, and here's the pic to prove it:



Taking down the Ukrainian flag

----------------
Edit to add:

7. Another helo downed by the seps near Slavyansk. Must be true, since it comes from Ukr sources. They report that it was quiet during the night, but at dawn the seps have started attacking, and were only forced to retreat when the NazGuard called in air-support (a pair of Su-27's). If I understood correctly, the seps have downed the helo during the same fight.

macedonian wrote:Well, since no one else is posting, I guess it's up to me to carpet-bomb this thread   

Rumors on twitter:

1. National Guard unit in Lugansk capitulated to self-defence forces this morning (great news if true)
2. Many NazGuard "soldiers" are wounded and are @ the local hospital in Krasny Liman, according to Alexander Boroday
3. Self-defence in Lugansk send home captured soldiers - keep weapons, ammunitions and armoured vehicles (a very valiant move, but they'd make a good bargaining chip)
4. In  the recent attack on UA army convoy in Isyoum, Kharkov commander of airborne assault battalion was killed (hope it's true)
5. Again (Rumor!) that a number of Estonians were caught fighting for the Nazi squads
6. Connected to point No.3 - seems indeed the seps have won the border post, and here's the pic to prove it:



Taking down the Ukrainian flag

----------------
Edit to add:

7. Another helo downed by the seps near Slavyansk. Must be true, since it comes from Ukr sources. They report that it was quiet during the night, but at dawn the seps have started attacking, and were only forced to retreat when the NazGuard called in air-support (a pair of Su-27's). If I understood correctly, the seps have downed the helo during the same fight.

http://holesika.livejournal.com/1026403.html
Militia repelled the assault of Slavyansk. Ukrainian forces have suffered the largest one-time casualities.
Militia stoped the attack on Slavyansk, which began in the morning of 3 June, during which the junta has suffered greatest losses of personnel and military equipment at one day.

About 6 p.m. local time, the Ukrainian forces began shelling the city, and Avakov announced the beginning of the assault.

At the same time, the militants of the national guard, with the support of aviation began the attack on Krasniy Liman, but very large losses forced them to retreat. Later fighting under the Red Estuary resumed. The battle at Slavyans continued. Ukrainian aviation and artillery continued to bomb the area of the battle, but militia responded with AA missiles from "Igla" and ZU-23 fire.

As a result, militia men were able to shoot down 1 Mi-24 and 1 SU-25 attack aircraft. Another 2 helicopter, including 1 with symbols of the UN, suffered serious hits and were taken out of the fight. The national guard lost a large number of armored vehicles, including 4 modern BTR-4 and 1 T-64. The exact number of the victims of the Ukrainian side for obvious reasons not disclose, but given the largest one-time loss of equipment, the number of those killed guards should go for dozens. Militia lost at least 5 people killed and 10 wounded, including heavy injured.

Also ukrainian 95th Zhitomir airmobile brigade has suffered large casualties. Commander of the battalion Taras Senyuk (colonel) and sub-commander of bat.(captain?) were killed. Other casualities are held in secret.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxgnK7wccRo

^^^

Yes, seen that, but it was from yesterday.
So I'm a bit confused if that was the only helo brought down, or if there's another one (as I assumed) this morning.

flamming_python wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:

macedonian wrote:

Hannibal Barca wrote:So the situation is turning badly on the ground lately?

Pretty bad, towards horrible. Seps are losing so far.
There's talk of volunteers coming in from Russia, though unconfirmed.

OK I see. Now I try to call some of my connections in Crimea to receive information. If this is the case then the fairy tails are coming to an end...

OK I spoke with a source I consider informed and reliable. I got encouraging messages.

He confirmed that there is deep involvement of American and Polish mercenaries.
He said that the preparations are accelerating and that the  pro Russian army is holding strong and re-enforcements from Russia keep coming.
He said that the rest (about retreating, let novarussia alone etc) are just PR he confirmed though that for the moment there is no discuss about Russian intervention but he sounded sure that Russia can simply not back down anymore
and that they are determined to carry the job through no matter what it takes.
He further said that Crimea preparing to receive LOTS of refugees and that Lugansk Slaviansk etc will evacuated from underage preparation meaning that they expect that the situation will get much more serious soon. The main camp is in Armiansk.
He finally said that the frontiers with Russia is uncontrolled meaning that Russia has a free hand to smuggle whatever considers necessary..

That's all for the moment.

Other than the unconfirmed mercs that all sounds pretty genuine.
Thanks for the reassurance, hope they hold fast! Once diplomatic contacts start resuming between Russia and the West, and Poroshenko is inaugerated, his room for manuever will shrink. Quickly. This is their last big shot at solving the situation through force, and they're putting everything they got into it.
Which isn't all that much.  A constant flow of Russian reinforcements should be able to break the siege and ultimately evict them.

Ι guess a measure that can be taken.. is for Russia to impose a NO FLY Zone over Donbass and that can be achived with some BUK and s300 easily.. from the Russian side of the borders
And now there are lot good reasons for a NFZ

macedonian wrote:Well, since no one else is posting, I guess it's up to me to carpet-bomb this thread   

Thanks for your posts; I am reading them.

I'll post my views on the Solzhenitsyn material when I get some time.

freeing captured ukrainian soldiers(not maidanuts or foreign mercs) is good move in my book.
also seps should concentrate some of their efforts into obtaining longer ranged sams- like buk.

4 million euros will cost the party of Dmitri Ribolovlef (Russian Tyconn) in his private island Scorpio (Greece). The island was in the ownership of Onasis family and bought recently from Ribolovlef. He pays 30euro per hour to the Greek policemen for the extra safty needed and 1.500 euros per hour for the Heli... etc..
http://www.newsit.gr/default.php?pname=Article&art_id=300327&catid=6



-----------------------------------------

I just wonder how many manpads , night vision eq, rpgs etc could be bougth if Dmitri had any sense of national pride ..

========================================================================


Evacuation of patients after hospital attacked by ukr forces in krasny liman.

arpakola wrote:4 million euros will cost the party of Dmitri Ribolovlef (Russian Tyconn) in his private island Scorpio (Greece). The island was in the ownership of Onasis family and bought from recently from Robolovlef. He pays 30euro per hour to the Greek policemen for the extra safty needed and 1.500 euros per hour for the Heli...
http://www.newsit.gr/default.php?pname=Article&art_id=300327&catid=6



-----------------------------------------

I just wonder how many manpads , night vision eq, rpgs etc could be bougth if Dmitri had any sense of national pride ..

It's not a matter of money (which are just numbers, by the way).

Unfortunately too many oligarchs, the loyalty lies only with their own bank balance.
Just look at Poroschenko, former Pty of the Regions man, exports most of his chocolate to Russia. You jsut couldnt make this shit up.

Back on the pr issue, why didnt Russia put an essay - short and long version linked off the Kremlin website. Basically explaining how the Ukraine's borders/existence even aren't real, just a bizarre anomaly, assisted by Nazi ethnic cleansing etc. ANd explaining how Nazis etc overthrow the legit govt.

By standing off, Russia is almost suggesting "we dont have a valid claim here" (even tho the claim is actually overwhelming) Or it makes them look duplicitious, less clean handed in the eyes of uninformed Westerners.
But its beyond that now, Putin should have said to that American cocksucker Obama, "kill our citizens, and we will kill more of yours". It really is a form of outright war against Russia, by America.
And also think about what should become "the Mexican issue" ie Ru supporting Mexicans in the way
the US supported W Ukrs.


MANPADS, I think you are looking at 60k USD each. I'm not sure how much the more advanced tracking costs. I'd strongly be looking to sabotage the West, even Central UKraine. ANd wondering what could cause damage over a widespread area from a distance eg a base or a Ukr. rocket formation.

All-out battle in Slavyansk: Ukrainian Air Force reportedly strikes city's suburbs, over 800 casualties reported

VoR wrote:Ukrainian military planes carried out an airstrike upon the community of Semenovka, a suburb of Slavyansk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, early on Wednesday, which caused serious damage, the headquarters of the local self-defense forces told Interfax. Ukrainian security officials reported that 300 militiamen were killed, about 500 injured during fierce fighting near Slavyansk and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk region. At the same time about 45 Ukrainian military officers were wounded during the clashes.

"Howitzers and mortars were fired at night, and the Ukrainian army carried out several airstrikes upon the village of Semenivka this morning. One round hit the Mayatske forestry section, beyond the Kharkiv-Rostov highway," the HQ of the local self-defense forces said.

Voice of Russia

That's far, far too much!

http://strategia-22.livejournal.com/

May 2-31. Losses of Ukrainian forces
--------------------------------
Manpower:
More than 950+ killed, wounded and POWs
from them:
-450+ National Guards/Right Sector soldiers
-200+ paramilitary battalions (Dnepr, Donbass, Azov)
-116+ soldiers from 95,25,89th Airmobile brigade, 51st Ind. Motorised Rfl. Bde and home affairs troops
-32+ soldiers fro misc. spetsnaz
-88 SBU agents (including SWAT teams)
-25 CIA agents (13 killed, 12 very seriously wounded)
-70+ mercenaries: "ASBS Othago" - 8 (snipers), "Greystone", "Hello trust", "Academy" - 64
-----------------------------------------------------
Vehicles

- 2х Hummers;
- 18х BTR-70/80 APCs;
- 9х BMP-1/2;
- 9х BMD-1/2;
- 1х BRDM-2;
- 2х SP gun 2С3 "Akatsiya"(maybe 1 - 2С1 and 1 - 2С3);
- 1х Т-64BV;
- 14х trucks (4х KAMAZ, 3х GAZ-66, 3х Ural, 1х UAZ-469, 3х unspecified)
- 1х 2Б9 Vasilek automatic mortar;
- 3х howitzers D-30/74;
- 3х 120mm mortars;
- 2х 23мм ZU-23/2;
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
About 28 AFVs (APCs, BMP, BMD) damaged

Captured: 30 vehicles. From them 10 vehicles in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk (1 - BMD-2, 2 - BMD-1, 1 - 2C6 "Nona", 2 - BTR-D, 2 - BRDM-2, 2 - IMR-2M (eng. vehicle)
7 AFVs in Donetsk - 3 - BTR-80, 1 - BTR-70KShM, 1 - BMP-2, 2 - BRDM-2

5 AFVs in Mariupol: 3 - BTR-70/80, 2 BRDM-2

8 AFVs in Lugansk republic: 4 - BMP-2, 2 - BTR-70/80, 2 - BRDM-2
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Air forces:

299th Brigade lost in fights for Donetsk 1 - Mi-8MT/Mi-17 (in airport by grenade) + 1 Mi-24VP (AA missile, the crew was killed)
16th Brigade - 3 - Mi-8MT/Mi-17 + 3 Mi-24 (all on May 02)
51st Brigade of National Guards - 1 Mi-8MT (May 29).
Proably lose one more Mi-8MT on May 29 on take off knowcked down, or some kind of breakage. Crews of both dead

- 4 Mi-24
- 5 Mi-8MT/Mi-17

Damaged helicopters:
1 Mi-24 was damaged from surface fire on May 2, managed to escape and grounded in emergency. Broken tail and engine fire
2 Mi-8MT damaged by small arms fire
1 Mi-24VP damaged in the course of fights for Donetsk railway station. F

Seems I was right...ANOTHER helo was shot-down today:



That's the seps footage from today, and they're claiming it's a shot-down hello.

--------------------------------------
Edit:

info I found, claims to be from Strelkov's VKontakte:

Strelkov wrote:Situation in Slavyansk and its vicinity remains the same at this time. Aviation and artillery shelling is being used without any restraint. The losses of MI-24 helicopters and the SU fighter jet [Note: as yet unconfirmed] have had no impact on the actions of Ukrainian forces: aviation continues to conduct [devastating] airstrikes against the cities and villages [in the region]. This suggests that pilots have been given sufficient incentives to continue and that losses no longer matter [to the Ukrainian forces].

The surrounding urban landscape is starting to look more and more like Syrt and Aleppo. Bombed-out and burning buildings are no longer shocking or newsworthy [and have become commonplace]. The mass media show only the destruction that transcends all boundaries.

From Zarod on mp.ret:

Estimated Nazterrorists' Losses from http://arbaletfire.livejournal.com/205863.html

May 2-31

Manpower - total losses - 1869 killed.
From them:
800 - Right Sector units
540 - "Azov", "Donbass" paramilitary battalions
189 - shot in backs, or convicted (apparently conscientious objectors, non-terrorists)
90 - SBU
100 - from foreign military companies
75 - Zhitomir brigade
20 - 16th Brigade
4 - Mirgorod brigade
26 - Police
25 - others

Vehicles:
5 - D-30 howitzers
11 - BMD
18 - APCs
1 - BRDM-2
10 - BMP-1/2
2 - 152mm "Akatsiya" SP guns
21 AFVs damages
---

Estimated Nazterrorists' Losses from http://strategia-22.livejournal.com/

May 2-30

Manpower:
More than 950+ killed, wounded and POWs
from them:
-450+ National Guards/Right Sector soldiers
-200+ paramilitary battalions (Dnepr, Donbass, Azov)
-116+ soldiers from 95,25,89th Airmobile brigade, 51st Ind. Motorised Rfl. Bde and home affairs troops
-32+ soldiers fro misc. spetsnaz
-88 SBU agents (including SWAT teams)
-25 CIA agents (13 killed, 12 very seriously wounded)
-70+ mercenaries: "ASBS Othago" - 8 (snipers), "Greystone", "Hello trust", "Academy" - 64
**********


Vehicles

- 2х Hummers;
- 18х BTR-70/80 APCs;
- 9х BMP-1/2;
- 9х BMD-1/2;
- 1х BRDM-2;
- 2х SP gun 2С3 "Akatsiya"(maybe 1 - 2С1 and 1 - 2С3);
- 1х Т-64BV;
- 14х trucks (4х KAMAZ, 3х GAZ-66, 3х Ural, 1х UAZ-469, 3х unspecified)
- 1х 2Б9 Vasilek automatic mortar;
- 3х howitzers D-30/74;
- 3х 120mm mortars;
- 2х 23мм ZU-23/2;

About 28 AFVs (APCs, BMP, BMD) damaged

Captured: 30 vehicles. From them 10 vehicles in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk (1 - BMD-2, 2 - BMD-1, 1 - 2C6 "Nona", 2 - BTR-D, 2 - BRDM-2, 2 - IMR-2M (eng. vehicle)
7 AFVs in Donetsk - 3 - BTR-80, 1 - BTR-70KShM, 1 - BMP-2, 2 - BRDM-2

5 AFVs in Mariupol: 3 - BTR-70/80, 2 BRDM-2

8 AFVs in Lugansk republic: 4 - BMP-2, 2 - BTR-70/80, 2 - BRDM-2


Losses of the Peoples Army of donetsk & Lugansk Republic for May -02-28: Killed - 118, 128 - seriously wounded

*****
Air forces:

299th Brigade lost in fights for Donetsk 1 - Mi-8MT/Mi-17 (in airport by grenade) + 1 Mi-24VP (AA missile, the crew was killed)
16th Brigade - 3 - Mi-8MT/Mi-17 + 3 Mi-24 (all on May 02)
51st Brigade of National Guards - 1 Mi-8MT (May 29).
Proably lose one more Mi-8MT on May 29 on take off knowcked down, or some kind of breakage. Crews of both dead

- 4 Mi-24
- 5 Mi-8MT/Mi-17

Damaged helicopters:
1 Mi-24 was damaged from surface fire on May 2, managed to escape and grounded in emergency. Broken tail and engine fire
2 Mi-8MT damaged by small arms fire
1 Mi-24VP damaged in the course of fights for Donetsk railway station. Fire in engine. Managed to ground 5 km from the town.

All damaged flights need thorough repair.
By May 30 Ukrainian Air forces lost 21 pilots and flight technicians

macedonian wrote:All-out battle in Slavyansk: Ukrainian Air Force reportedly strikes city's suburbs, over 800 casualties reported

VoR wrote:Ukrainian military planes carried out an airstrike upon the community of Semenovka, a suburb of Slavyansk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, early on Wednesday, which caused serious damage, the headquarters of the local self-defense forces told Interfax. Ukrainian security officials reported that 300 militiamen were killed, about 500 injured during fierce fighting near Slavyansk and Krasny Liman in the Donetsk region. At the same time about 45 Ukrainian military officers were wounded during the clashes.

"Howitzers and mortars were fired at night, and the Ukrainian army carried out several airstrikes upon the village of Semenivka this morning. One round hit the Mayatske forestry section, beyond the Kharkiv-Rostov highway," the HQ of the local self-defense forces said.

Voice of Russia

That's far, far too much!

Either Russia is good at portraying itself as a "victim". Or Putin is on drugs.
My question is, how long is this meant to go on for? As long as the Syrian civil war? The US civil war? Or the Yugoslav one?

Alternatively it could go on the length of Georgia's 8-8-8.