The Russians are crying out ‘sabotage’, yet they are invaders in a land that it is not theirs. Russians are fleeing Crimea—they aren’t stupid, because they knew one day the Ukrainians would have enough force to take back their land. Reports state that more than ten thousand homes have gone up for sale in the past 24 hours—most know that they never really owned them in the first place as there are more explosions in Crimea.
This is the difference that support from the West has made. We should thank Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and the UK as all these countries supported Ukraine from the start without hesitation. They led the way, and other countries in the West were encouraged to follow suit. If we look at the delays in the early weeks—how many lives could have been saved?
The former head of Amnesty International (Oskana Pokalchuk) in Ukraine, who resigned over the report on Ukrainian soldiers being responsible for civilian deaths tells her story.
Zelenskyy also tells some of his story, stating that he did not wish to panic the public when the invasion was about to happen, because it would have created chaos, and Russia would have taken Ukraine like Crimea. He stated that martial law had to be imposed, and it was necessary to ensure that the country could remain as stable as possible. No one can blame him, because all Ukrainians knew that Russia had its eye on Ukraine since the end of the Cold War, and after the annexation of Crimea, each region knew they could be next
What we see is Ukraine fighting back after getting rid of traitors, and will the aid of weapons from western allies. This war has changed the world already, but there is a long way to go still and Russia is still a threat to the world at large, with China and North Korea not far behind.
Day 174 (16 August)
Estonia has opted to remove historical Soviet weapons that were on public display in Narva, and put them in a museum. This is because the relics are subject to attacks, and they are also reminders at present of what is a difficult situation where the west is being threatened by Russia and the repression Estonians suffered as a Soviet state.
The sham court in Donetsk held a trial for the five foreign prisoners, who pleaded not guilty. Three of the men (John Harding, Mathias Gustafsson, and Vjekoslav Preberg) could face the death penalty who are accused of being mercenaries. Dylan Healy was captured while carrying out humanitarian activities and are protected (or are supposed to be) under international law. According to reports they appeared in court with black bags over their heads while handcuffed. The trials will continue in October.
Early this morning, in Crimea a Russian ammunition depot in Mayske, near Dzhankoi (a military base) caught fire, as did an electrical substation. An airbase in Hvardiiske also reported an explosion.
The Ukrainians have stated this is the demilitarisation of Crimea, and have not denied any involvement of the incidents, while Russia is crying out ‘sabotage’. Ukrainian officials claim that the fires must be a result of a violation of fire safety rules, and careless cigarettes being dropped
Later in the afternoon, there was another explosion near Simferopol, another military base, and smoke was seen at Gvardeskoye, another airbase in Crimea. These incidents come a week after the first explosion in Saky.
Russia has made a statement:
On 16 August (2022) at 06:15 Moscow time, a fire took place in the Mayskoye area in the Dzhankoi district of Crimean the territory of a temporary ammunition storage site at a military base.
As a result of the fire, there was a detonation of of the ammunition stored…The causes are being established.
Russians in Crimea are leaving en masse, taking all their belongings with them and putting their homes up for sale. They will not return, and knew that this day might come—when Ukraine would take back their land. More than 30,000 cars have crossed the Crimea bridge in one day to escape (illegally built) back into Russia. It is also a popular tourist destination for Russians, and many are fleeing by car because the airports are closed.
Liev Schreiber (Ukrainian grandparents), an actor has visited Borodianka to help keep an international focus on the war in Ukraine. War fatigue can set in and that is why after the annexation of Crimea, little was reported on the war in the Donbas until recently. This is in stark contrast to Steven Seagal who visited the Donbas as a Russian representative.
Russia has claimed that the UN is blocking a visit from the IAEA to the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The UN has denied the claim stating that the UN has no such authority, and that they support a visit from the IAEA.
In Belarus, the Russians are preparing forces for an attacks across the border in Ukraine. This has been on the cards since the start of the invasion, but would also mean that a third party country is technically taking part in the war.
On Thursday, there will be a meeting in Ukraine with Erdogan, Zelenskyy, and the UN Secretary General, Guterres, more than likely to discuss how the grain blockade is working or not. The Brave Commander has finally left Pivdennyi, carrying humanitarian food from Ukraine to Africa.
Ban Ki-Moon, a former UN Secretary General visited Bucha today. While these visits show solidarity, the UN needs to act more decisively and a former UN Secretary General would have a better understanding of what action is possible. Let us hope that he offers some suggestions that can work.
Finland will begin to limit issuing Russian tourist visas to 10% from September. There has been a push to ban issuing all visas to Europe for Russians.
Russia has begun to issue number plates in Kherson with the Russian flag and code 184 as it tries to annex the region.
Missiles were launched in Belarus around 2 p.m., into the Zhytomyr District, but there no explosions in Ukraine which means that they were intercepted by the Ukrainian Air Defences, with equipment that the West have donated.
Putin is playing the blame game again, claiming that NATO’s expansion in Europe led to the invasion of Ukraine (?), and accused NATO of building up troops in regions near Russia. The man is unhinged—he annexed Crimea back in 2014 and had been planning it for years, and countries near Russia that want protection have welcomed the presence of NATO. He also claimed that NATI was trying to drag out the war, and said Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was an act of provocation. He was speaking at the Moscow Conference on International Security. I wonder if his pal Orban showed up?
Russia fines streaming platform ‘Twitch’ for alleged fake videos of the graves in Bucha. They are still claiming it is all fake, even though there are bodies and witnesses.
Thank you @EL for keeping up with everything and then writing about it so informatively! Managed to get behind reading this blog, but so appreciate everyone’s timeliness!
Did want to make a brief comment, even if late to the party. I think it’s rich for Russia (Putin) to cry “sabotage,” for incidents in Crimea when they had no business being there in the first place! Absolutely love Ukraine’s "violation of fire safety rules” reply regarding cigarettes. Getting Russians illegally occupying Crimea out at long last reminds me of the phrase, "don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
What an incredible turn of events! Of all the unforeseen turns, Ukraine is seizing the axe out of the invader's hand and hitting him with it, going on the offence instead of remaining on the defence, and forces the invader to attend to another vulnerable flank. One hopes the West fully realises what an opportunity this invasion has provided to weaken Putin, and what a debt it owes to the courage of Ukraine's people. TC