Bob Homans July 11
20220711
Ukraine – 7/11 Sitrep
Compiled by: Robert Homans
Twitter: @rhomansjr
July 11, 2022
More on Rep. Victoria Spartz
As mentioned in her Wikipedia Page, Rep. Spartz called the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine "a genocide of the Ukrainian people by a crazy man." Spartz was one of the first US officials to call Russian actions "war crimes." At the time of the invasion, Spartz had family still living in Ukraine, including her grandmother who was living in Chernihiv, which was under siege by Russia in the first month of the war and is now under continual bombardment.
During the latest Russian invasion, Spartz has traveled to Ukraine twice. First, in April 2022, including an unannounced visit to Bucha, accompanied by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana). They were the first elected officials to visit Bucha. The second visit was with Rep. Tim Walberg (R- Michigan) to Lv’iv, Kyiv and Odesa. Spartz has been critical of the speed and effectiveness of international humanitarian aid efforts. Rep. Spartz was invited by Pres. Biden to attend the signing of the Lend-Lease Act for Ukraine.
Despite her record of support for Ukraine, because of her letter to Pres. Biden, sent last Friday, Spartz has been accused of repeating Russian disinformation. If this is the case, then much of the Ukrainian print media, members of opposition parties in the Ukrainian Parliament, and many others must also be accused of spreading Russian disinformation, since Spartz was repeating accusations made by Ukrainian journalists, and many others, over the last several months.
Latest Lawrence Freedman
In his latest report, Freedman says that Ukraine is currently using the artillery systems they are now receiving from the West in significant quantities, to hit selected Russian targets, including ammunition dumps, troop concentrations and command posts, part of Ukraine’s strategy of degrading Russia’s ability to advance using the strategy they have so far used in Donbas – large concentrations of artillery fire backed by slowly advancing infantry and armor.
Russia’s 331st Guards Parachute Regiment
BBC reports that the 331st Guards Parachute Regiment, heavily mauled in the initial campaign to capture Kyiv, is back in the field in Donbas. The 331st is based in Kostroma, northeast of Moscow. Their number is made up of ethnic Russians, not ethnic minorities from Siberia, or portions of Russia that are rural and more impoverished. What is interesting about the article is the increasingly muted response to the casualties experienced by the 331st by the broader population of Kostroma.
There was a very successful thoroughbred racehorse named “Kostroma.” Kostroma was partly owned by Robert Sangster, part owner of Coolmore Stud in Ireland. She had a very successful racing career in both Ireland and the United States, including winning 2 Grade 1 races in the U.S. She won over $1.2 million in purses. I doubt any of Kostroma’s winnings will end up in Kostroma.
Chinese Exposure to Russia’s Debts & European Gas Prices
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-investors-dump-bonds-of-chinese-banks-that-lent-heavily-to-russia-11657531800?st=olacp938dteseyv&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink For the most part, these are bonds issued by Chinese “policy banks,” financial institutions established to expressly implement the policies of the Chinese Communist Party. One of the “policy banks” include China Development Bank (CDB). In 2013, when I was in Monrovia, Liberia, I met with CDB representatives. They were very clear about their mission. For those of you who are interested in learning more about CDB, read the book, China’s Super Bank. It was written by 2 reporters who worked in Bloomberg’s Beijing Bureau. After the book was published, they were both kicked out of China.
European Gas Prices – According to Axios, the price of gas at the Netherlands Hub is now 9x that of the US, as shown at Henry’s Hub. Because of limited LNG terminals on the US side, not to mention Germany, the US has limited ability to increase gas sales to Europe beyond current levels.
7/11 Sitrep (my comments in bold face)
INTERNATIONAL
Monday, July 11
Reuters: Lithuania has expanded the restrictions on the transit of goods to Kaliningrad through its territory. Additional goods barred from Monday morning include concrete, wood, alcohol, and alcohol-based industrial chemicals.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: Many G20 leaders refrain from labeling Russia an aggressor country. «When it comes to naming the aggressor and determining who is responsible for the consequences, many remain silent for various reasons. Some countries are worried about the consequences of the war for themselves, not about who is responsible for these difficulties and how to end this war. Others complain of “double standards” or simply want to maintain good bilateral relations with Russia,» Borrell says.
Swedish multinational home appliance manufacturer Electrolux stops working in Russia.
Russia stops the gas pipeline "Northern stream" against the background of the gas crisis. The "Northern Stream" will stop for scheduled maintenance on Monday morning, 11 July. It is claimed that the work will last until the morning of 21 July.
Financial Times: Lesson number one for Ukraine’s western allies from the war is the importance of maintaining basic stockpiles.
Minister of Education and Science of Poland said that "the end of the war in Ukraine is not in sight," therefore, a decision was made to admit another 200,000 children from Ukraine to schools from September 1.
Sunday, July 10
Fitch: Belarus, following Russia, is waiting for a default announcement due to the decision to pay on Eurobonds not in dollars, but in Belarusian rubles to accounts in Belarusbank.
Spiegel: Deputy leader of the parliamentary group of the Free Democratic Party of Germany in the Bundestag Karina Konrad demands to check the possibility of gas production in the North Sea. According to her, against the background of a possible shortage, gas should be primarily supplied to housing construction and industry, and not to electricity producers.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder does not consider it necessary to refuse the opportunity to communicate with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the backdrop of events in Ukraine, he advocates a diplomatic settlement. "I will not give up my opportunities to speak with President Putin," he said.
Global Haber: Turkish Defense Minister - The problem of organizing a "grain corridor" for the export of Ukrainian products via the Black Sea is close to being resolved. "We have established very warm relations with Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyi and held very thorough negotiations," he said.
Corriere della Sera: Germany is blocking the allocation of financial assistance to Ukraine for 9 billion euros. Although the decision to provide Ukraine was made at the EU summit at the end of June. According to the newspaper, the allocation of funds is not approved by German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who is against providing assistance to Ukraine through a common European debt, as was the case during the pandemic.
Politico: French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Mer at an economic forum in the city of Aix-en-Provence warned of the extremely high probability that Moscow will completely stop gas supplies to Europe. The minister noted that the French government is working to identify companies that should receive priority protection in case of interruptions in gas supplies.
The UK has sent 6 RAF fighters for joint exercises in Sweden and Finland,-the British Ministry of Defense said. The purpose of the exercise is to allow the air forces of the three to strengthen their ability to operate together with each other.
Bild: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz congratulated Canada's decision to transfer a turbine for the Nord Stream gas pipeline to Germany. "We welcome the decision of our Canadian friends and allies,"- he said.
● The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine called on Canada to cancel the decision to return the turbine for the 'Nord Stream' pipeline to Germany. In a statement, the Canadian-German agreement is called the adaptation of the sanctions regime to the "whims of the Russian Federation," and Moscow's demand to return the turbine is "blackmail that has no technical justification
Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: In the military units of the Russian Federation, which are deployed near the state border with Ukraine, on the eve of being sent to the combat zone, the Russians disable equipment so that the unit remains on the territory of Russia. The servicemen of the 103rd motorized rifle regiment, which is part of the 150th motorized rifle division, dismantled and disabled 17 BTR-82A and 9 K1Sh1 command and staff vehicles within a week.
Die Welt: Roskomnadzor has restricted access to the website of the German daily newspaper. Blocking is evidenced by the data of the service of the department for checking the restriction of access to sites or pages of sites on the Internet.
Le Figaro: Ex-President of Poland Lech Walesa called either to change the political system of the Russian Federation, or "dismember" it and reduce the population to 50 million. According to the politician, 60 peoples who were included in its composition during the historical process should rise up against Russia.
Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic: Russian Military equipment destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be exhibited in Prague. The exposition, which will run from July 11 to 24, will feature the Russian T-90 tank, artillery mounts, anti-tank systems and the 'Buk' anti-aircraft missile system.
The New York Times: Biden will ask for Soviet weapons for Ukraine during a visit to the Middle East. The edition notes that the approved military assistance should be enough until the second quarter of next year, but in the United States they fear a protracted war and want to maintain their own defense capability. The White House is also working to change the position of Brazil, China, India and other countries that have not joined the US and European campaign to isolate Moscow.
AFP: The US State Secretary Antony Blinken calls the blockade of Ukrainian ports by Russia one of the factors behind the crisis in Sri Lanka. Blinken fears this could happen elsewhere as well.
Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation (Russian Parliament - ed.) Viacheslav Volodin says that Putin has saved the world from a global war: "Our president did everything to ensure the security of our country. If there were no his decision to launch a 'special military operation', the world could actually face an abyss, before the threshold of a big war."
Russian war crimes in Ukraine reminded the world of the genocide in Srebrenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina), – a joint statement by the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell and European Commissioner Oliver Vargheli on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of the genocide.
Der Spiegel: Germany has solved the problem of supplying ammunition for Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. Now Ukraine can receive the first 30 installations in July.
Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: In the Russian Federation, recruits are recruited among convicts and surveillance is established on the relatives of the military killed in Ukraine. Given the significant losses in the war in Ukraine, the Russian Federation has stepped up recruitment to private military companies. Due to the lack of volunteers, recruitment in places of deprivation of liberty is activated, in particular located in the Republic of Adygea. After signing and fulfilling contracts with PMCs, the convicts are promised a full amnesty.
Belarusian Hayun: Russian military aviation intensified in Belarus. Two Il-76s and an AWACS A-50 aircraft arrived at the military airfield in Machulishchi (Minsk region). In addition, three Russian Il-76s also arrived in the morning.
In Nizhnyi Novgorod, a court found public activist Oleksii Pidnebesnyi guilty of discrediting the Russian army. According to the court, Oleksii wrote the word "special operation" in quotation marks on the social network in order to give the word a disparaging connotation.
NATIONAL
Monday, July 11
Head of the Ministry of Digital Development of Ukraine, Mykhailo Fedorov says that Ukrainian entrepreneurs will use corporate mail, cloud storage, and other services of Google Workspace for free. Although Google introduced a paid subscription to Google Workspace starting in July , these services will remain free for Ukrainians to the end of the full-scale war.
A new intercepted phone call by the Security Service of Ukraine:
● «Looting, anarchy, and mayhem - such a «Russian world» is arranged by the invaders in temporarily occupied Kherson region». Russian servicemen and FSB officers compete with each other even for stolen cars. Because it’s meant for a new chief of police in a town.
President's Office: Russian media posted an image of a new «coat of arms» for the Kharkiv region, which is going to be used in the temporarily occupied territories. "Ukraine has one emblem - the trident. The Russian «plucked chicken» will never be there.”
Operational report of the General Staff of the AFU 7:50 AM:
● In the Sloviansk direction, Ukrainian soldiers successfully repelled the Russian assault in Krasnopilla.
● In the Donetsk direction, there are signs of Russian units preparing to intensify combat operations in the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut directions.
● In the Novopavlivsk direction, the Russians are conducting assaults to improve their tactical position. Assault and army aviation have intensified.
● Another Russian offensive attempt to attack in the direction of Maryinka completely failed. Russian troops retreated.
The Institute for the Study of War 7:13 AM:
● Russian forces are conducting a theater-wide operational pause in Ukraine and engaging in operations to set conditions for future offensives.
● Russian forces conducted limited probing operations northwest of Slovyansk.
● Russian forces are likely intensifying artillery and missile strikes west of Bakhmut in order to isolate the city from critical ground lines of communication
● Russian forces conducted a limited and unsuccessful ground attack north of Donetsk.
● Russian military leadership continues to form ad hoc volunteer units and private military company combat organizations partly comprised of older men and criminals to support operations in Ukraine.
⚡️The US National Space Agency took a photo that clearly shows the front line in Ukraine.
The NASA Firms system, dedicated to detecting large fires, recorded the hottest spots.
Sunday, July 10
The Times: Ukrainian Defense Minister - In the next few years, the process of disintegration of the Russian Federation will begin, and it will turn into different states. “I am sure that in the next few years we will see a procession of calls for sovereignty on the territory of Russia. The Russian Federation will end its life like different countries - Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and the like,".
Minister of Internal Affairs: More than 3 million people are registered in the territorial recruitment and social support centers outside their place of residence.
● "Mobilization is the business of every citizen, it must be done voluntarily. I want to say that more than 3 million citizens today are registered with military enlistment offices not at their place of residence. And this is an issue that must be resolved in the near future, and first of all this should be the position of the citizens themselves, who should be registered with the military,".
Odesa Regional Military Administration: The Ukrainian military destroyed 6 Russian ammunition depots in the Donbas, as well as a military base in Kherson.
Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration: About 30% of the local population does not pass through the "filtering" concentration camps set up by Russia. According to her, those who do not pass "filtering" are returned to colonies or pre-trial detention centers along with other prisoners of war. Mostly it's men.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed a law that exempts military personnel and all those who take part in defending Ukraine from paying military taxes.
Kyiv prosecutor's office: The first suspect in the murders and torture of civilians in Bucha, -the commander of the department of the federal service of the troops of the National Guard of Russia in the Ulyanovsk region, Serhii Kolotsei, was put on the international wanted list.
Wall Street Journal: Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview that American HIMARS systems "changed the rules of the game" during the war. According to him, the country is successfully applying the delivered systems, but he called for an urgent increase in the supply of armored vehicles and drones.
● Reznikov also said that the need for longer-range weapons exceeds the need for shorter-range systems, because the war now mainly consists of artillery battles: "We need to upgrade our platoons and change them and make replacements also because we also have a lot of losses. We are waiting for more armor, more weapons from our partners. We need to realign some areas, upgrade our fortifications and plan a new operational strategy".
The New York Times: The reason for the resignation of Andrii Melnyk from the post of Ukrainian ambassador to Germany was the sharp reaction of the Federal Republic of Germany to the words of the diplomat about Stepan Bandera.
● In an interview, Melnyk compared Bandera with Robin Hood and stated that he was not related to the murders of Jews.
● Also, commenting on the history of the OUN's role in the massacres and Bandera's anti-Semitic views, Melnyk said that there is no evidence for such claims that are not disputed in academic circles.
● In Germany, which prides itself on its commitment to condemning the crimes of the Nazis and perpetuating the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, questioning this chapter in history is a red line.
Babel: Founder of 'Hromadske' Radio and human rights activist Maksym Butkevych was taken prisoner in the area of the captured Zolote and Hirske points at the end of June. Butkevych's mother, Yevhenia, says that the Joint Centre for the Search and Release of Prisoners is involved in the release of her son. She has not yet received any information about her son.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine names the top 3 captured MLRS captured from the Russians:
● BM-27 "Uragan" takes the third place. The firing range of this MLRS is 30-35 kilometers.
● In second place is 'Tornado-G'. The combat capabilities of the said MLRS have been expanded with new reactive munitions.
● And the leading position went to TOS-1A "Solntsepek". The system fires thermobaric ammunition, 24 shells in a salvo. There are already several such complexes in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Operational summary of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 6:58 PM :
● In the Kharkiv direction, the enemy used tanks, cannon and missile artillery to shell Kharkiv and the settlements of the Kharkiv region to the north, east and south of the city.
● In the Sloviansk direction, the Russians frankly failed reconnaissance in combat in the direction of Mazanivka, thanks to the skillful actions of Ukrainian soldiers, and withdrew with losses.
● In the Avdiivka, Kurakhiv, Novopavlivka and Zaporizhzhia directions, shelling with the use of mortars, tanks, cannon and missile artillery continues along the line of collision.
● The Russians launched airstrikes near Avdiivka and Volodymyrivka, the Donetsk region. By assault actions they tried to improve the tactical situation in the Novoselivka Druha area, but failed and retreated.
● In the Pivdennyi Buh direction, the enemy is trying to prevent the advance of units of the Defense Forces deep into the temporarily occupied territory.
● In readiness for launching missile strikes on targets on the territory of Ukraine, the enemy is holding 2 carriers of high-precision weapons in the sea.
Ministry of Defense of Ukraine: For more than 2.5 months, Russian planes and helicopters have not flown into the airspace over the territory controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "Fearing our Air Force, enemy aviation operates from outside the territory of Ukraine... Our air defense is armed with far from the most modern weapons, but we use them as efficiently as possible", – the department notes.
Presidential spokesman: Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not receive requests from Congresswoman Victoria Spartz about the need to solve Yermak's issue. “If Victoria Spartz has evidence of her accusations, let her make them public. So far, apart from the accusations of one of the hundreds of these deputies, we have not heard anything”, – he says. The accusations made by Rep. Spartz are the same accusations made by Ukrainian journalists, going back several months, in some cases prior to the start of Russia’s latest invasion. Therefore, the request made by the Presidential Administration to Rep. Spartz, should instead be made to Ukrainian journalists and others who have been regularly reporting on these events.
Former FSB (Russian Intelligence - ed.) officer and Minister of Defense of the so-called "DPR" Ihor Strelkov-Hirkin says that the destruction of Russian ammunition depots by the Armed Forces of Ukraine is proceeding successfully.
United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramilla Patten said that 124 cases of sexual violence have already been recorded in Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion,-says the official website of the UN.
About 60 teachers from Dagestan expressed their desire to go to the occupied territories of Ukraine to teach Ukrainian children according to the Russian program. Teachers are lured by large daily allowances of 8,000 rubles, while a teacher's monthly salary in Dagestan barely exceeds 25,000. The desire to go to Ukraine was also expressed by teachers from the central and southern regions of Russia.
SUMY
Monday, July 11
Regional Military Administration: At 7:30 in the morning, the Russians hit the Shalygin community with rocket artillery - 20 arrivals. There are no casualties or destruction.
KHARKIV
Monday, July 11
Regional Military Administration: One missile hit a six-story residential building in the Osnovianskyi district. State Emergency Service of Ukraine rescued an 86-year-old woman living in an apartment on the 2nd floor.
● Two more rockets hit a courtyard near a storage building in the Osnovianskyi district and a school building in the Slobidskyi district of the city.
● Russians are shelling the city from «Grad» rocket launchers. Some parts of the city have lost electricity.
● Kharkiv was subjected to three rocket attacks last night.
Sunday, July 10
Regional Military Administration: A missile fired from the territory of Russia reaches the Kharkiv region in a matter of seconds. Therefore, there is too little time for shelter
● The number of rockets that arrive in the region is far from equal to the number of rockets fired by the Russians.
● The front line in the Kharkiv region has not changed, the enemy has not captured a single meter of our territory, active hostilities are underway in the northern, northeastern direction.
● A local "Quizling" Yevhen Yunakov blew up in a car near the local administration in Velykyi Burluk, the Kharkiv region.
LUHANSK
Monday, July 11
Regional Military Administration: The night in the Luhansk region was alarming. The Russians launched five missile strikes and four heavy artillery shells on populated areas on the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Russian troops are actively using aviation, but they are not advancing, losing regular ammunition depots.
Sunday, July 10
Regional Military Administration: Fighting continues in Bilohorivka, but the Russians cannot advance.
● The number of attacks and shelling has decreased, the Russians are almost powerless without their artillery.
● The full-scale attack of Russians on Bakhmut and Sloviansk is not true
Office of the Prosecutor General: In the Luhansk region, nine more police officers are suspected of treason. According to the investigation, in the spring of 2022, police officers swore an oath and began to cooperate with the Russian Federation. During the occupation of the settlements of the Luhansk region, nine police officers became representatives of the so-called "LPR".
DONETSK
Monday, July 11
Adviser to the mayor of Mariupol: Russians are forcing Mariupol residents to clear the rubble and clean up the streets for food. Hard work in the summer heat is paid for with a bowl of porridge and a bottle of water.
Regional Military Administration: Russians fired on Bakhmut with incendiary ammunition, several houses burned down. As noted, seven houses burned down as a result of the shelling. Rescuers from the State Emergency Service are on the scene. Russia is purposely destroying Ukrainian cities and villages and exterminating the civilian population, the report says.
Sunday, July 10
Adviser to the mayor of Mariupol: Russians and collaborators have destroyed a monument to Vasyl Slepak, an opera soloist and a participant in hostilities in the Donbas.
● Russians have resumed the exhumation of the yards of high-rise buildings in Mariupol. Now the investigative committee of the Russian Federation is engaged in this.
● According to him, the bodies are dug up, placed in plastic bags and taken by a Cargo 200 car directly to Stary Krym (a village near Mariupol). They are already throwing them in bulk into a mass grave.
Regional Military Administration: Today, the Russians shelled New York, Soledar, Seversk, Vuhledar, Lastochkyne, as well as the Cherkasy and Illinevsky communities in the Donetsk region.
● Buildings were destroyed in many settlements, there were fires. At the same time, two people are known to have died in Seversk, three people were injured in Soledar, and one each in Vuhgedar and Lastochkyne.
As a result of a missile attack by Russian troops on a residential building, in Chasiv Yar, 18 people died, 6 more were injured and 22 more people, including a child, may be under the rubble
● The building in the city of Chasiv Yar, which was fired upon by the Russian troops, was a civilian hostel. In total, the Russians fired 4 missiles from Iskanders, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reports.
ZAPORIZHYA
Monday, July 11
National Police Service: Russians were shelling civilian infrastructure in the areas of Hulaipole, Prymorske and Kamianske. There were 9 reports of destruction of civilian infrastructure due to the shelling by Russian troops.
The so-called "Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Zaporizhzhia region" reports that local partisans have tried to kill the "head of the administration of the Melitopol district" Andrii Sihuta. Sihuta is reported to be alive.
Sunday, July 10
Mayor: In the near future, occupied Melitopol will face problems with power supply. "Two days ago, the rashists completely captured the electrical networks. Now there are not even dispatchers responsible for supplying energy. Therefore, we clearly understand that the very first accident and the city will be left without electricity".
Enerhoatom: Russian military forced management to allow a Russian propagandist blogger with a representative of Rosatom to the station. Propaganda videos about the "successful operation" of the station are planned to be filmed in restricted areas and Ukrainian personnel will be forced to participate in propaganda interviews.
DNIPRO
Monday, July 11
Regional Military Administration: Russian troops attacked using MLRS on two territorial communities - Apostolove and Zelenodolsk. Russians fired directly at the Novosemenivka and Marianske villages. Previously, no one got hurt. But Russians destroyed houses and injured animals.
Sunday, July 10
Regional Military Administration: In the Kriviy Rih direction, the number of enemy shelling has sharply increased. The Russian military fired on the Velyka Mykhailivka community of the Synelnykivskyi district of the Dnipropetrovsk region from the MLRS today
KHERSON
Sunday, July 10
Regional Military Administration: In the temporarily occupied Kherson, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit a military unit of the Russians along Pestel Street.
Operational Command Pivden (South): Rocket and artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed a command post of the Russian Guard near Kherson, as well as four ammunition depots in different districts of the region. As a result, 15 Russians were liquidated and more than 60 pieces of equipment were destroyed, among which 57 were armored and automotive vehicles.
President’s Office: During yesterday’s attack on Chernobaevka, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liquidated 12 senior Russian officers (generals / colonels), destroyed a command post, an ammunition depot and several dozen pieces of equipment.
ODESA
Monday, July 11
President’s Office: Odesa today was targeted by 4 rockets fired from aircraft flying over temporarily occupied Crimea. One of the rockets hit a building. Information about the victims and destruction is being specified.
CRIMEA
Sunday, July 10
The so-called "head" of Crimea, Serhii Aksionov, extends the high level of terrorist threat in cities and regions of the north of Crimea and at infrastructure facilities until July 25. Before Russia’s invasion of Crimea Aksionov was a small time criminal. In the last free election held in Crimea, before Russia’s invasion, Aksionov’s Party got around 4% of the vote.
Comparing Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to Russian invasion of Ukraine using Wikipedia and Ukraine Ministry of Defense Daily Bulletins. Soviet and Russian military losses not including captured equipment
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SOURCES
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/
https://euromaidanpress.com/
https://invite.viber.com/?g2=AQBD3wxTrZ6XUU7IdXeHUfjVCydekezQCCGuwYnT6qPd1r7n1aVbFIewa6ng6Lis