Posted on 04/20/2022 1:13:32 PM PDT by marcusmaximus
Nearly 8,000 mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group have been deployed by Russia in Ukraine to boost Vladimir Putin's flagging invasion, but have suffered heavy casualties, British MPs have been told.
Giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Christo Grozev, executive director of the Bellingcat investigative website, said 3,000 members of the private military company (PMC) were thought to have been killed on the battlefield.
The shadowy group - which has been linked to a string of killings, rapes and war crimes around the world - is known as Putin's private army which carries out his dirty work at an arm's length from the state, while giving him plausible deniability.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I hadn't thought to look - but on Daily Fail articles like this, they're bound to be a hoot.
Thanks for the heads-up!
Consider the source.
May I presume this story has your approval?
Do the Russians have the aim of Imperial Stormtroopers while the Ukrainian army is made up of nothing but the deadliest snipers to inhabit the planet?
What do you expect when you’re trying to invade with frequently broken down equipment? And tanks that are sitting ducks?
Newsflash — not every part of the world shares the notion that the label “nazi” is the worst, most horrific thing anyone can imagine. Aside from that, many of these “neonazis” — on both the Ukrainian and separatist sides (I noticed you conveniently omitted mention of the “Nazis” in the ranks of the separatists) — run the gamut from legitimate neonazis to Slavic paganism adherents who share similar iconography to guys who don’t care except that they know nazi imagery gives them a certain image, and gets under people’s skin. None of that changes that Russia is the aggressor in this conflict. Do neonazis forfeit the right to defend their homeland against invasion?
Another newsflash for you — the wars in Bosnia, Chechnya, Georgia, Donbass and now the wider Ukraine should be a reminder to everyone that Eastern Europe isn’t an especially pleasant part of the world, and Eastern Europeans don’t observe too many niceties in war, and regularly do things that westerners consider war crimes. The bottom line outside of all the distasteful people, political factions, and atrocities committed by all parties is that Russia is the aggressor. The only measure of who is in the right and in the wrong can be boiled down to that simple fact.
I think the Russians are using Chechens to spearhead the Mariupol assaults.
I think the Russians are using Chechens to spearhead the Mariupol assaults.
—
46st Separate Brigade attached to the Russian National Guard, I believe.
An actual mercenary group led by an actual neo-nazi and employed by Putin. Imagine that.
“...there are more terror and cleansing units within the Russian National Guard and Spetsnaz...”
And you can’t tell your fighter without a scorecard as there are fights on both sides with separate definitions..
Setting aside the workability of the Article 47(2) of the Geneva Convention definition, and given its narrowness, publicly available information suggests that many of the foreign fighters are not mercenaries. Thus a member of the armed forces of a belligerent is not a mercenary.
Everyone talks about the Wagner, yet the Ukrainian government has formally incorporated the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine into its armed forces. Thus, the Legion’s reported 20,000 foreign members—including 3,000 Americans—are not mercenaries under Article 47(2).
Gotta get a dictionary and look up “it.”
wy69
More BS, just like the Libyans on tread, who are for some reason wearing the Ukrainian kit.
Blah, blah, blah. Even if everything you said was actually true, it still wouldn’t justify Russia’s invasion.
Strange, you would think this would be news hitting every news outlet across the world, yet I only see this in the Daily Mail rag.
Update
Summary:
Key area: Izyum bridgehead. Russian troops are mopping up corner between Oskil and Siverskiy Donets rivers controlled by Ukrainian side before. Town of Kreminna captured by Russians.
New focus area will be Donbass, Izyum, Mariupol, Kherson.
1. Kharkiv: positional fighting, heavy shelling by Russian troops.
2. Izyum bridgehead: Russian 4TD and 3 mechanized division expanded bridgehead in the west to village of Andriyivka and in the south to village of Dovgenke - both villages are in Russian control. It is extremely dangerous penetration by Russian troops that potentially could lead to large pocket for Ukrainian troops west of Donetsk. New reinforcement on the bridgehead - 106 Airborne Division. There are no signs of 6TB/47TD that originally captured bridgehead. Russian 21 brigade now fights on the bridgehead as well, parts of 144ID are being pulled there as well. No expansion of bridgehead over these days.
3. Russian attacks on Popasna, Rubizhne and Severodonetsk, fighting on outskirts of towns. Russian troops captured majority of Rubizhne. Popasna is about 80% captured by Russian troops, town center is controlled by Russian side, they control center of the town. Russian mercenaries - Wagner Group operates in Popasna.
4. West of Donetsk: Avidyivka and Maryinka - very active shelling with Russian artillery of all calibers including 203 mm guns. Maryinka is only 25% captured by Russian troops. Ukrainian side claims recapture of all of Maryinka, but we don’t have supporting evidence.
5. Vugledar is in Ukrainian hands. Dangerous Russian attack on village of Velyka Novosilka to the east of Vugledar.
6. Mariupol: continuous fighting, heavy shelling by Russian troops using 240-mm mortars, MLRS, FAB-3000/5000 bombs, Russian troops captured all of the sea port. Small underground town under Azovstal - 11 sq km, 6 layers, 3 m sick (thick) concrete between layers.
7. There is large gap between Volnovakha and Zaporizhya thinly defended by Ukrainian forces, Russian forces don’t have enough resources to exploit it. Ukrainian strongholds are towns of Gulyaypole and Orikhiv. Russian 19D is operating there.
8. Mykolayiv: positional fighting, shelling. 14th brigade arrived to the region. Russian troops also received reinforcement - part of 201 military camp - we estimate it’s a brigade size subunit.
If Russia chooses to consider their induction into UAF as a legal fig leaf, nothing stops it from treating them as mercs.
Daily Mail!
In other news, 7 of Wagner’s Valkyries were also killed in Ukraine.
It seems they are using “Nazi” in the same way the left does, which would just mean “anyone who isn’t a communist”.
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