Putin Recognizes Donbass Republics, Sends Russian Military to 'Denazify' Ukraine

[Ellipse]

Ukraine uses US facial recognition technology to terrorize families of dead Russian soldiers​

Ukraine is employing US-made facial recognition technology to scan the faces of dead Russian soldiers and, after having matched the images to online profiles, sending the photos to the relatives of the deceased.

The practice, which is a clear violation of Geneva Conventions and protocols that state that the bodies of dead soldiers must be afforded respect and cannot be subject to ill treatment, was reported on by the Washington Post last Friday. The American newspaper described the macabre and demented campaign, however, as if it were a legitimate military tactic, albeit one that might backfire.

According to Ukrainian officials cited in the story, the US firm Clearview AI gave the country the technology. It has since been used to conduct more than 8,600 facial recognition searches. With the photos of dead Russian troops in hand, a database of 20 billion images from social media and the internet is sifted through in order to identify the individuals. About 10 percent of searched images are from VKontakte, Russia's most popular social media site.

Ukraine uses US facial recognition technology to terrorize families of dead Russian soldiers

The practice, which is a clear violation of international conventions on the treatment of dead soldiers, was reported on by the Washington Post as if it is a legitimate, if potentially problematic, military tactic.

www.wsws.org

 

[Cosmos]

I may (should) catch some flak for this, but I can't say I am 100% sold on Gonzalo Lira.

Same Burnt Orange hat - same grey tee shirt - over and over and over... - Is that his brand "look"? Almost always a non-descript white wall background. He literally could be anywhere. I get it: if he is truly in some kind of danger he does not want to allow his location to be pinpointed. OK, fair enough. But still... Dude, mix in a different shirt once in a while. He is probably the only guy in Ukraine with a non-logo Texas Longhorn burnt orange baseball cap. A Minor critique I admit.

Then again, this is a guy with a cell phone. If he is uploading to a channel, wouldn't it be traceable? Using a proxy VPN? Does he seem tech savvy enough to strip out the meta data from his vids? I suppose anything is possible but, IDK, I smell fish.

He is supposed to be a reporter (?), I guess. Stylistically, he sounds like a story teller. He makes sweeping evaluations of all sorts of world events including Ukraine. Does he ever mention sources? He speaks with a degree of certainty but often his words are just blanket unsupported assertions. Is he out in the trenches gathering the scoop wearing a flak jacket? For sure he is a marked man if his detention by the Ukrainians is to be believed. So, any one feeding him info via mobile phone would be at risk. Anyone he meets at a coffee shop who is passing on these juicy nuggets of intel would also become at risk. He is so casual and not stressed at all. That doesn't add up.

I have been sitting back pondering this for while. Out of the blue this guy became a "thing" on this forum. Basically he was echoing what many here already figured out. To recap: Bottom line, I have doubts. Lira seems harmless since he encapsulates what can be found online from the likes of South Front and other sources. I can't say I have ever heard him say something that makes me stop in my tracks and go "oh, wow! Great Insight." (The MSM analysts are liars and shills? Shocking! Pure Genius!)

Shrug shoulders. Whatever. Just felt compelled to finally say it.

You may fire when ready Gridley.

Well, as the C's once said:

Q: So, there is no conspiracy there, either?

A: It is just as dangerous and just as useless to "see" conspiracy in everything s it is to "see" conspiracy in nothing. We tire of conspiracy "buffs." They are nutty, and serve as perfect false sponsors to those who really DO seek to conduct widespread mental/psychic manipulations and control.

Seems to me that pretty much all of your reasons for being conspiracy minded about Gonzalo and his situation are based on MANY assumptions that could be easily be dispelled if you would know more about the situation. You are making assumptions based on limited data, information and understanding of the situation.

For example: He has no cellphone anymore. Another example: He isn't supposed to be a reporter. He isn't a journalist either. He is simply a more or less normal guy that found himself in peculiar circumstances (first in Kiev and now in Kharkov) when the Ukraine situation broke out. Another example: "Out of the blue this guy became a "thing" on this forum." What do you mean, out of the blue? Another example: If you would know more about the situation you would know that he was detained and picked up by the SBU and has only an old Macbook air now, with which he is making the videos. Since the Ukraine authorities now know his location in Kharkov officially, he doesn't need to hide is whereabouts anymore.

I could go on and on. Your analysis is packed full of assumptions, so much so, that it is hard to know where to start and where to end.

 

[SOTTREADER]

In fairness to @BHelmet it is not a bad thing to have a healthy level of skepticism. He did not dismiss Gonzalo, he's simply voicing what he perceives as "off" from his vantage point.

It is strange that he got caught by the supposedly scary SBU, freed and is now back to full on criticism of the Ukrainian government. Can one be forgiven for thinking either the Nazi elements in Ukraine aren't as widespread (hence why Gonzalo is still being Gonzalo) or something else is going on that affords Gonzalo his protection.

 

[Ryan]

In fairness to @BHelmet it is not a bad thing to have a healthy level of skepticism.

Interesting that you consider misinformed and overly-critical analysis to be a “healthy” level of skepticism. You might want to reconsider that.

 

[Ellipse]

One of the top officers of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade of the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) was killed near Kharkiv​

May 8 2022

Lieutenant Colonel Yuriy Savchin, who was one of the top officers of the 93rd separate mechanized brigade of the AFU, was liquidated near Kharkiv. According to Ukrainian media, this happened back on 4 May.

According to available information, in the 93rd Brigade, Savchin commanded an anti-aircraft battalion armed with American Stinger MANPADs. Apparently, the Ukrainian serviceman was well acquainted with Western weapons, as he had served as a mercenary in one of the American PMCs for several years, including in Afghanistan and South America. Prior to that, in 2014 he participated in the punitive operation of the AFU in Donbass, after which he was demobilized.

After leaving mercenaries, Savchin rejoined the AFU and fought against the Russian army conducting a special operation in Ukraine. By the way, in March, the lieutenant colonel took part in the battles near Malaya Roganiya, where later the Ukrainian military together with the 226th TRO battalion of the TRO brutally massacred the Russian captives.

Meanwhile, near Kharkov, the AFU continues to make attempts to launch a "counterattack," which is successfully suppressed by Russian forces. However, all of this is presented in Kyiv as a "great triumph," Zelensky's team is trying to present what is happening near Kharkiv almost as a "general offensive" that eclipses the actions of the Russian army in Donbass in terms of its power.

As a reminder, after the LNR reservists occupying positions in Stary Saltov withdrew, the Russian Armed Forces also abandoned several settlements on the outskirts of Kharkiv, including Tsirkuny. A small Russian grouping is operating in this area, whose main task is to prevent the AFU and the National Security Forces from transferring reserves to the Donbass, keeping them in constant tension. A serious offensive in this area, according to Russian war correspondents, was not planned, at least for the time being. There are artillery duels going on right now, but the situation is quite serious and should be kept under control of our command.

Translated from:

https://topwar.ru/195999-pod-harkovom-likvidirovan-odin-iz-vysshih-oficerov-93-j-otdelnoj-mehanizirovannoj-brigady-vsu.html

 

[Ellipse]

Today missile strikes are destroying military facilities in the Nikolayev, Odessa, Vinnitsa, Kharkov, and Sumy regions​

May 7 2022

Reports are coming in from Ukraine about the massive use of high-precision missiles against enemy military facilities and those used for military purposes. Some time ago, Voyennoye Obozreniye reported about four missiles that struck facilities in Odessa. These included a fuel and lubricant storage facility and an aircraft repair plant where, according to some reports, foreign unmanned aerial vehicles were being delivered.

Air-alarm sirens were heard in a number of regions of Ukraine. Eyewitnesses filmed cruise missiles flying over the territories of Cherkasy, Vinnitsa and Mykolaiv regions.

Destruction of military facilities in Mykolaiv. Rockets bursting can be heard, as reported by eyewitnesses.

Reports are coming in about airstrikes on Ukrainian troops in the Sumy region. It is from the territory of that region that after the withdrawal of Russian units from there that the Ukrainian side is constantly shelling the adjacent territories of Kursk Region.

It should be recalled that in the past few weeks alone, settlements and border control points in the Sudzhan, Korenev, Rylsk and Glushkov districts of Kursk Region have been shelled. A Ukrainian drone was shot down over the village of Borovskoye in western Kursk Oblast. The strikes against the Ukrainian militants in the Sumy Region are designed to extinguish the clearly increased activity of the enemy, who apparently did not appreciate the goodwill gesture of withdrawal of the Russian army from the northern and northeastern regions of Ukraine.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine can expect "a significant intensification of hostilities by Russia in the coming weeks. At the same time, the secretary general of the Western militaristic bloc said that it was necessary to increase supplies of NATO weapons to Ukraine, adding that "the Ukrainian army cannot last long on old Soviet weapons". Against this background, the Russian Defense Ministry reported today about the destruction of NATO military equipment at a railway station in the Kharkiv region.

Translated from: https://topwar.ru/195989-raketnymi-...j-vinnickoj-harkovskoj-sumskoj-oblastjah.html

 

[Eboard10]

The idea of Poland’s intention of taking over parts of Western Ukraine has been brought up in a number of articles.
Gonzalo Lira also discusses this in one of his recent videos and claims that doing so would anger the neo-Nazis who would see this as a foreign nation taking over the heart of their homeland and this would eventually create for Poland a situation similar to what the US experienced in Vietnam.

But I haven’t seen much mention about how Russia would react to such a move.

My doubts related to Russia being somehow ok with a partitioning of Ukraine with NATO/EU countries is that it would effectively, even if maybe not on paper, get NATO’s border even closer to Russian territory than it currently is, which is exactly what Putin is fighting for among other things, and the area in question is filled with people who carry a lot of anger towards Russia and many of whom IMO are eager to take up arms and fight. Moreover, the nation that would take over this area is none other than arguably the most staunch supporter of the US.

How would Putin react to that?

 

[ziutek]

I may (should) catch some flak for this, but I can't say I am 100% sold on Gonzalo Lira.

Same Burnt Orange hat - same grey tee shirt - over and over and over... - Is that his brand "look"? Almost always a non-descript white wall background. He literally could be anywhere. I get it: if he is truly in some kind of danger he does not want to allow his location to be pinpointed. OK, fair enough. But still... Dude, mix in a different shirt once in a while. He is probably the only guy in Ukraine with a non-logo Texas Longhorn burnt orange baseball cap. A Minor critique I admit.

Then again, this is a guy with a cell phone. If he is uploading to a channel, wouldn't it be traceable? Using a proxy VPN? Does he seem tech savvy enough to strip out the meta data from his vids? I suppose anything is possible but, IDK, I smell fish.

He is supposed to be a reporter (?), I guess. Stylistically, he sounds like a story teller. He makes sweeping evaluations of all sorts of world events including Ukraine. Does he ever mention sources? He speaks with a degree of certainty but often his words are just blanket unsupported assertions. Is he out in the trenches gathering the scoop wearing a flak jacket? For sure he is a marked man if his detention by the Ukrainians is to be believed. So, any one feeding him info via mobile phone would be at risk. Anyone he meets at a coffee shop who is passing on these juicy nuggets of intel would also become at risk. He is so casual and not stressed at all. That doesn't add up.

I have been sitting back pondering this for while. Out of the blue this guy became a "thing" on this forum. Basically he was echoing what many here already figured out. To recap: Bottom line, I have doubts. Lira seems harmless since he encapsulates what can be found online from the likes of South Front and other sources. I can't say I have ever heard him say something that makes me stop in my tracks and go "oh, wow! Great Insight." (The MSM analysts are liars and shills? Shocking! Pure Genius!)

Shrug shoulders. Whatever. Just felt compelled to finally say it.

You may fire when ready Gridley.

This is a post from Gonzalo from about an hour ago.
He made the exact same and if I remember correctly the identical one on Telegram a month or a month and a half ago.
I can't find it now. I am sure he was sitting in his apartment in Kharkov at the time and wrote about the lack of toilet paper.
Why did he make two identical entries every month and a half?
Strange? Maybe just to me?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523226066323660800

 

[Elisasheva]

L

I may (should) catch some flak for this, but I can't say I am 100% sold on Gonzalo Lira.

Same Burnt Orange hat - same grey tee shirt - over and over and over... - Is that his brand "look"? Almost always a non-descript white wall background. He literally could be anywhere. I get it: if he is truly in some kind of danger he does not want to allow his location to be pinpointed. OK, fair enough. But still... Dude, mix in a different shirt once in a while. He is probably the only guy in Ukraine with a non-logo Texas Longhorn burnt orange baseball cap. A Minor critique I admit.

Then again, this is a guy with a cell phone. If he is uploading to a channel, wouldn't it be traceable? Using a proxy VPN? Does he seem tech savvy enough to strip out the meta data from his vids? I suppose anything is possible but, IDK, I smell fish.

He is supposed to be a reporter (?), I guess. Stylistically, he sounds like a story teller. He makes sweeping evaluations of all sorts of world events including Ukraine. Does he ever mention sources? He speaks with a degree of certainty but often his words are just blanket unsupported assertions. Is he out in the trenches gathering the scoop wearing a flak jacket? For sure he is a marked man if his detention by the Ukrainians is to be believed. So, any one feeding him info via mobile phone would be at risk. Anyone he meets at a coffee shop who is passing on these juicy nuggets of intel would also become at risk. He is so casual and not stressed at all. That doesn't add up.

I have been sitting back pondering this for while. Out of the blue this guy became a "thing" on this forum. Basically he was echoing what many here already figured out. To recap: Bottom line, I have doubts. Lira seems harmless since he encapsulates what can be found online from the likes of South Front and other sources. I can't say I have ever heard him say something that makes me stop in my tracks and go "oh, wow! Great Insight." (The MSM analysts are liars and shills? Shocking! Pure Genius!)

Shrug shoulders. Whatever. Just felt compelled to finally say it.

You may fire when ready Gridley.

Gonzalo in one of his previous videos proved that he is indeed in Kharkov, he filmed the surroundings outside etc.

I've also heard from people who are moderators in the chat created by his "fans" from the previous activities as Coach Red Pill, that he has a serious heart condition and he doesn't have much time left. I have no idea if this is true, but it somehow explains his recklessness when it comes to spreading the true information.

I wouldn't try to search for any conspiracy around the guy - he is indeed just a well-spoken guy who had his fans and channel before the war and just happened to be in Ukraine when the war started. He is indeed very valuable source of info for people who don't know too much but doubt the official narrative. For example I like his analysis and generally listening to him, it's somehow relaxing to me. But actually I'm sceptical when it comes to his newest videos about polish annexation of western Ukraine, I guess he treats it as something unavoidable.

SBU took his phone and laptop, only left an old laptop because he asked them too. Now he's under the investigation. Maybe they don't consider him as a big threat for official narrative, that's why they let him do what he does now.

 

[Elisasheva]

This is a post from Gonzalo from about an hour ago.
He made the exact same and if I remember correctly the identical one on Telegram a month or a month and a half ago.
I can't find it now. I am sure he was sitting in his apartment in Kharkov at the time and wrote about the lack of toilet paper.
Why did he make two identical entries every month and a half?
Strange? Maybe just to me?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523226066323660800

You're right, I remember this post too.
Here's the previous one:

Gonzalo Lira

I have discovered bidets. In my current safe house, there is no toilet paper — but there’s a bidet. I had never used one before, but after a few days, I realize that it is the most pleasurable and hygienic experience ever. Not kidding, dead serious — don’t mock it ‘til you try it.

t.me

That's indeed strange.

 

[ziutek]

This is a post from Gonzalo from about an hour ago.
He made the exact same and if I remember correctly the identical one on Telegram a month or a month and a half ago.
I can't find it now. I am sure he was sitting in his apartment in Kharkov at the time and wrote about the lack of toilet paper.
Why did he make two identical entries every month and a half?
Strange? Maybe just to me?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523226066323660800

Here it is

Gonzalo Lira

I have discovered bidets. In my current safe house, there is no toilet paper — but there’s a bidet. I had never used one before, but after a few days, I realize that it is the most pleasurable and hygienic experience ever. Not kidding, dead serious — don’t mock it ‘til you try it.

t.me

 

[Persej]

Looking for another 'propaganda win' along the lines of the sinking of the Moskva. Strategically meaningful wins are going to be very hard for them to achieve at this point. But they might be able to blow something up.

It seems that it is more than that.

The island is strategically important because it allows Russia to claim territorial waters stretching 12 nautical miles out to sea.

They cover important shipping channels to the port cities of Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson.

After taking the island, Russia cut off the shipping channels, isolating Ukraine from international markets and depriving its economy of vital trade revenues as it seeks to defend itself.

Moment two Ukraine fighter jets bomb Russian-occupied Snake Island

Footage released on Saturday shows Ukrainian Air Force Su-27 Flankers striking Russian facilities during a high speed bombing of Snake Island, which is currently occupied by Russian forces.

www.dailymail.co.uk

But the western articles are ridiculous. Ukraine is supposedly winning at sea, even though it has no big warships!

At sea, however, the Ukrainians clearly have the upper hand—even though Kyiv’s tiny navy, having scuttled its flagship frigate in Odessa in order to prevent its capture, no longer has a single large warship. Instead, the navy along with the air force is waging war from land and air—and winning.

Ukraine’s Best Fighter Jets Just Bombed The Hell Out Of The Russian Troops On Snake Island

The raid marks a significant escalation of Ukraine’s air campaign targeting the Russian garrison on the island in the western Black Sea, 80 miles south of Ukraine’s strategic port Odessa.

www.forbes.com

Ukrainians just lost two more Su-24 airplanes and one Mi-24 helicopter. I am sure that the western media will also claim that Ukraine is winning in the air, even though it will soon have no airplanes left!

The Russian Armed Forces destroyed a project 1241 corvette of the naval forces (Navy) of Ukraine near Odessa, as well as two Ukrainian Su-24 bombers and one Mi-24 helicopter over Snake Island. This was announced by the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov on May 8.

https://iz.ru/1331800/2022-05-08/vs-rf-unichtozhili-korvet-vms-ukrainy-i-dva-bombardirovshchika-su-24

 

[Cosmos]

This is a post from Gonzalo from about an hour ago.
He made the exact same and if I remember correctly the identical one on Telegram a month or a month and a half ago.

Why did he make two identical entries every month and a half?
Strange? Maybe just to me?

That's indeed strange.

No, it’s not automatically strange at all. It isn’t „the exact same and identical post“ either. Far from it, actually. Again:

Q: So, there is no conspiracy there, either?

A: It is just as dangerous and just as useless to "see" conspiracy in everything s it is to "see" conspiracy in nothing. We tire of conspiracy "buffs." They are nutty, and serve as perfect false sponsors to those who really DO seek to conduct widespread mental/psychic manipulations and control.

And more assumptions based on lack of data and over imaginative „conspiracy everywhere“ thinking. As explained previously, Gonzalo has lost the access to all his former social media accounts, and most likely decided with this and other posts to just repost it in a similar (and in that case different) manner in his new Twitter account.

 

[luc]

Interesting that you consider misinformed and overly-critical analysis to be a “healthy” level of skepticism. You might want to reconsider that.

Hey Ryan, no need to be so confrontational here. @BHelmet said what was on his mind, so that we can discuss it, which we did, and Cosmos provided some needed background info because he has been following the story closely. That's all.

@SOTTREADER In case you missed it, we speculated a bit about what might have happened to Gonzalo here. We can't tell for sure of course.

 

[ziutek]

No, it’s not automatically strange at all. It isn’t „the exact same and identical post“ either. Far from it, actually. Again:



And more assumptions based on lack of data and over imaginative „conspiracy everywhere“ thinking. As explained previously, Gonzalo has lost the access to all his former social media accounts, and most likely decided with this and other posts to just repost it in a similar (and in that case different) manner in his new Twitter account.

In fact, the text of the entries varies.
But what did he like so much about the bidets?