Kherson Trains Reconnect With The Rest Of Ukraine
The Russians dispute an act of perfidy, under Article 37 of the Geneva Convention
Day 268 (18 November)
Poland builds physical borders between the Russian borders with barbed wire fencing, while Ukraine builds walls between its borders with Belarus. Belarus is allegedly about to embark on mobilisation drills by the end of the year (that’s how Russia hopped over the border and began the invasion) and so far, walls are planned in Volyn and Zhytomyr Oblasts.
What this seems to indicate is that there is a threat and it’s obvious that NATO will not do much unless the first blood is shed on NATO territory that was intentional. So, both Poland and Ukraine need to erect their own defences as a preventative measure.
Reports indicate that 40% of the energy grids in Ukraine are down, and the crisis is getting worse, but the Ukrainians continue to repair the infrastructure while fending off further missile attacks. The snow is starting to fall now, and so heat is essential and these attacks cause harm and suffering to the citizens that Russia alleges that they are trying to save. No one bought that story in February, and no one buys it now—even the Russians aren’t bothering to pretend with the story.
Shelling and missile attacks continue across Ukraine, especially in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, where there have been fatalities. The point is that Russia has not stopped the attacks, and the aim is to create maximum harm and suffering to the Ukrainians.
Peskov (Russian spokesmen) has admitted that the missile attacks on energy infrastructure is to force Ukraine to negotiate, which means to force Ukraine to give in to their demands.
After 8 months, it was announced the first train would depart from Kyiv to Kherson, reconnecting the links between the regions. The train left at 10.14 pm and was due to arrive in Kherson the next day at 7am.
The Czech Republic has reiterated that the allies and West should not coerce or force Ukraine to negotiate. While other countries such as the US deny urging Ukraine to talk to Russia, they fail to understand that Russia doesn’t wish to talk, they only want Ukraine to give in and to concede. The Czech Republic (previously Czechoslovakia) historically knows that such negotiations lead to a loss of land and democracy. To cede land would also mean handing over Ukrainians to Russia.
Behind closed doors, and reading between the lines, it seems that the US would not be opposed to Ukraine choosing to cede land. Now that Congress is split, with the House of Representatives being controlled by the Republicans and the Senate by the Democrats, it may make some decisions more difficult for the current administration.
The Polish incident continues, and Ukraine is cooperating with the Polish authorities in a joint investigation. Whatever the outcome, Poland does not blame Ukraine for the incident. However, even if it is Russian, it was not deemed to be a deliberate attack, like the stray missile in Moldova, and NATO are treating a sigh of relief that they don’t have to act.
Some say that Ukraine wants NATO to get involved whereas I would say that NATO must get involved for the war to end. Military experts say that Ukraine is holding off the Russians, but to keep them out for good isn’t possible with a slow supply of weapons coming in drip by drip, and having to train soldiers to use the weapons. NATO knows it, but is hoping that Ukraine can pull it off without them having to get involved despite knowing that many deaths will occur.
The EU has set up its own military task force to help Ukraine. The EU has set up for a period of 2 years from 15 November 2022, a program, to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers. The EU Military Assistance Mission is coordinating the program with Ukrainian Armed Forces at a cost of €106.7 million.
Day 269 (19 November)
The first train to arrive in Kherson from Kyiv was a little late (around an hour later than scheduled), but greeted by crowds cheering and family members were reunited. It is hard to try and envisage being occupied and cut off from the rest of the country, and gives Ukraine hope that they can oust the Russians.
Sunak, the unelected British Prime Minister made a not so surprising visit to Kyiv today. While the UK supports Ukraine, it must be remembered that Sunak, rather than supporting the government, had been plotting to remove Boris Johnson for 2 years, and during the earlier months when Johnson was leading the way for support, Sunak launched a campaign to oust him. It went to a vote by the members of the party, and within a couple of weeks it was obvious that he was disliked and he did not win the vote. He acquired the position by routing a campaign to force out Liz Truss, whom at least had been voted for by the party. Images of Sunak smiling and posing with Zelenskyy are for his scrapbook while he hold the role.
Reports claim that a marine drone attacked the Russian Novorossiysk yesterday. The news was reported, but the story appears to have been removed from some sources
Lithuanians have raised funds for a second marine drone, that they have called ‘Yes to Peace’. Fundraising for another drone is already in place, which they hope to call ‘Duke of Peace’
Ukroboronprom (Ukraine’s main defence contractor), will produce weapons in conjunction with Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Denmark and other NATO countries.
This will include ammunition armoured vehicles and multiple rocket launchers.
The US has set up the ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative and is supplying up to $20 million to help support grain deliveries from Ukraine to the rest of the world. This is to help Ukraine fund shipments through the Black Sea and is aimed at preventing food shortage in the world.
The largest energy company in Ukraine DTEK, has advised Ukrainians to consider leaving the country during winter if possible, due to the damage to the energy grids caused by the Russian attacks. By doing so it means that what energy there is in the country can be used for critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and for military use. The danger here is that people don’t want to leave their homes, but if everyone stays, then there will be blackouts and not enough power for all.
Reports claim that Iran is secretly assisting Russia by building self-detonating drones. No one really believes the Iranian tale of them providing drones prior to 24 February 2022, and they had to admit it once evidence showed that the drones that attacked Ukraine were from Iran.
An incident on 12 November 2022, in Makiyivka near Luhansk has caused confusion, where the Russians claim that Ukraine committed a war crime. Bear with me on this, as much of the story has been reported on Russian and Ukrainian channels, but what transpired is that a group of Russian soldiers were in the process of surrendering to the Ukrainian troops. There is a procedure to do this as trained soldiers are aware of, and it’s not like the movies where they wave a white flag and come out.
I watched the video clips and while they are not complete, the whole story has not been released, but reading between the lines, the last Russian soldier who came out to surrender began shooting at the Ukrainian soldiers. It is unknown if any soldiers died, but it believed that all the Russian soldiers died, even the ones that had laid down on the ground ready to surrender.
Under Article 37 of the Geneva Convention, acts of perfidy are prohibited, which means it is a war crime if you feign a surrender and then ambush the other side.
It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy. The following acts are examples of perfidy:
(a)the feigning of an intent to negotiate under a flag of truce or of a surrender;
(b)the feigning of an incapacitation by wounds or sickness;
(c)the feigning of civilian, non-combatant status; and
(d)the feigning of protected status by the use of signs, emblems or uniforms of the United Nations or of neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict.
In this instance, having read how those in the military surrender it seems that the
Russian soldiers were feigning a surrender, and they do not have prisoner of war status until they are checked and handcuffed. Therefore, while the Russian soldiers lay on the ground, they were still considered hostiles who could have leapt up and attacked the Ukrainians. Therefore, the Ukrainians had no choice but to kill the hostiles who had feigned a surrender, and from some of the images, it seems that at least one Russian soldier was aware of the rogue Russian shooter who jeopardised the surrender process.
Looking at the images, the Russian soldiers who died appeared to have moved from their surrender positions which might indicate that they reacted to the their comrade shooting at the Ukrainians. The UN is examining the video footage, some that have been supplied by drones.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1593705944365633537.html
This is the process according to those who have served in the military:
A gunner is situated and is ordered to shoot a soldier who does not comply with instructions. This is to protect the rest of the troops.
Each soldier is called out one by one, told to lie face down with their heads on their head. This was carried out, until the last soldier then came out and shot at the Ukrainians. The gunner then took action and it was shoot to kill. From the video, one of the soldiers looked back at his comrade, and we don’t know why, but perhaps it had been part of the plan. The soldiers on the ground could have still been armed and were still considered a threat.
Once all soldiers have surrendered, one by one they are called out to be searched and then handcuffed, and the gunner remains watching the soldiers on the ground. That is the process in warfare, therefore, unfortunately if some Russian soldiers had genuinely wanted to surrender and a rogue member of the troops decided not to, then the Russians should have killed him to save themselves.
It is amazing what is involved, and what knowledge is required in 'surviving' an unsought for invasion.(hopefully ending victoriously). Ukraine seems to be keeping on top of the Russian's 'games' and has experts advising on the specifics of international law. Putin is transparent and we share your criticism of NATO's reluctance to move to stronger activism in stopping Russia, Ukrainians are showing us the worth of' their true mettle' in defending their sovereignty and fighting a war, but not wanting to escalate it into a global WW111. Ukraine and Zelensky deserve the Nobel Peace award! The Russian people need to protest and support within Russia the fight for peace, as well as, democratic ideals.