Seems more and more like Russian troops (Putin) are firing indiscriminately. A lot of civilians are getting the shitty end of the stick.

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Now Putin bombs a disabled care home: Ukrainians claim Russians are killing MORE civilians than soldiers and have destroyed 48 schools - but Kyiv says it's breaking stranglehold on cities as another helicopter is blown out the sky

  • Care home for the disabled near Kharkiv, north east Ukraine, hit by Russian shelling, local officials say
  • 63 of the home's 330 residents have been evacuated, whilst fate of other 267 is currently unknown
  • Came after Dnipro was hit in the early hours with strikes that destroyed a shoe factory and killed a civilian
  • But Ukrainian forces have been striking back, capturing five towns near besieged city of Chernihiv


Russia has today blown up a disabled care home near the city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have said, as Vladimir Putin's troops stoop to a new low just 48 hours after shelling women as they gave birth in a maternity hospital.

Oleg Sinegubov, an official from Kharkiv which has been under siege by Russian forces for days, accused Putin's men of committing a 'war crime' by launching air strikes against the facility in the town of Oskil which had 330 residents inside at the time the bombs hit.

Sinegubov said 63 care home residents have since been evacuated, but could not give an update on the other 267. Ten of those living at the home require wheelchairs, he said, while another 50 have reduced mobility. Ihor Terekhov, mayor of the city, said another 48 schools have been destroyed by Russian missiles.

Just 48 hours before the care home was destroyed, Russian jets had bombed a maternity hospital in the southern city of Mariupol as women gave birth inside. The Kremlin has sought to paint those wounded in the attack as 'crisis actors' as part of a vile propaganda attempt to dismiss allegations its troops are attacking women and children.

Ukraine says Russian attacks have now killed more civilians than soldiers - without giving an exact figure for either - as the Kremlin's generals pivot from shock-and-awe-style precision strikes to 'medieval' siege warfare. Dnipro, hundreds of miles to the south of Kharkiv, was hit by three strikes early Friday that damaged a kindergarten, a civilian apartment block, and a shoe factory - killing at least one person.

But Ukrainian forces continue to fight back, saying successful counter-attacks around the northern city of Chernihiv has recaptured five villages after Russian units took such heavy casualties that they were no longer able to attack effectively. It comes after another successful counter-attack in the same region on Thursday, and a counter-attack to the west of Kyiv which ground a Russian offensive to a halt.

Rest - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...r-Kharkiv.html


After more than two weeks of war, the Russian military grinds forward at a heavy cost

They don't fully control the skies, despite possessing one of the world's most advanced air forces. Their ground assault on the capital has been inching along for days, with a miles-long convoy marooned by supply problems. And all the while, they are taking heavy losses - both in personnel and equipment.

Two weeks after Russian forces streamed into neighboring Ukraine following months of buildup, evidence is mounting that the invasion has not gone to plan - and that Russia's much-vaunted military may not be the formidable force once feared.

"The word I'm hearing from everybody in the government who is watching this is 'surprising.' My own word is 'shocking,'" said Barry Pavel, a former top Pentagon official who is now senior vice president at the Atlantic Council. "It's shocking how incompetent they are in the basics of joint military operations by an advanced country."

That doesn't mean Russia won't ultimately seize Kyiv and topple the Ukrainian government. And it doesn't mean Ukraine won't pay a horrific price in both military and civilian casualties, as it continues to do daily.

But the stumbling pace of Russia's assault since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine late last month - marked by apparent confusion among commanders plus viral images of downed Russian planes and tanks set alight - has reset expectations for how the conflict will unfold.

Rest - https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/new...n-16994171.php


‘We won’t be welcoming the Russians with roses’: Odesa prepares for attack

The port of Odesa in southwestern Ukraine is a prime target for Russia due to its history and strategic position on the Black Sea. As soldiers and volunteers prepare for an assault on the city, even some local figures linked to the underworld have joined the war effort. FRANCE 24’s Mehdi Chebil reports.

Some 30 men form a human chain on an icy, wind-swept Odesa beach: They are shoveling fine sand into white canvas bags and passing them from one man to the next and into the trailer of a truck parked at the Odesa Yacht Club.

Recreational boats in a dry dock evoke happier days of sunny outings on the Black Sea. But on this day, March 10, it is the war that is on everyone’s minds. The thousands of sandbags will be used to barricade Odesa’s city centre, as it calmly prepares for a Russian attack.

On the beach, Roman Brig catches his breath between two shovelfuls, scanning the horizon. Russia’s warships are too far to be visible, but their arrival is only a matter of time, he says.

“It’s just common sense. Their boats won’t approach until the Russian ground forces have taken Mykolaiv [a strategic city 130 km to the east] and they are at the gates of the city. I think fighters who have already infiltrated Odesa will also show their faces then,” Brig, a computer engineer, told FRANCE 24. “So we have to be ready to fight on three fronts at the same time”.

Rest - https://www.france24.com/en/europe/2...-for-an-attack


Bennett advises Zelensky to surrender to Russia, Zelensky refuses

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy that he recommends Ukraine take the offer made by Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war - which includes many Ukrainian sacrifices - in a phone call on Tuesday, according to an official in Ukraine's government. According to the official, Zelenksy did not take Bennett's advice.

The source claimed that the phone call was initiated by Bennett. "If I were you, I would think about the lives of my people and take the offer," Bennett reportedly said.

Zelenksy's response was short. "I hear you," he said.

According to the report, Zelenksy and his people did not like the advice.

"Bennett told us to surrender," said the official. "We have no intention of doing so. We know Putin's offer is only the beginning."

Rest - https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-701041