Very interesting to see how old some of the soldiers are by now, how exhausted the population in the frontline areas is, and how no vehicles can get in or out of the hot zone around Kostiantynivka anymore.
There isn't much of a zone left, Konstantinovka is actively falling day by day. The last map from Suriyak shows Russia holding most of the town, with a large grey zone where Russia is completing sweeping operations, and a small Ukrainian-held area to the north. It's very much like the last days of Artemovsk/Bakhmut. Ukraine may hang out to the northern outskirts for a while.
Great viideo, thanks for sharing.
I've not commented on this thread before as its not really my wheelhouse but I do wonder why Russia keeps on at this. After seeing the civilians talk, they clearly don't seem to want to be part of Russia, so why keep up the charade? Has it gone too far for Vlad to pull back? Absolutely insane...
I think for a video like this one can cherry pick civilians that will support either side. There are definitely civilians in the Donbas that support Russia, and there are videos (I've posted some here) with civilians in occupied areas expressing dislike for the Ukrainian government. Realistically though at this point it doesn't have much to do with the desires of the population. Whereas in Donetsk region you can find plenty of supporters of Russia, in Zaporozhye and Kherson region the situation is very different. We saw this right away in '22 where Russian and back then rebel forces were met as liberators in places like Volnovakha and Severodonetsk, but Russian troops were met with protests and civil demonstrations in Energodar and Kherson city. The argument that it's all about the local wanting to be part of Russia is untrue. And of course opinions change over time. Places like Genichensk for example always had plenty of Russian supporters, and the town benefited from the current situation, growing substantially. Places like Berdyansk started out without particular enthusiasm for Russia, but they've largely been insulated from the war itself, and have also gotten some economic growth out of being part of the new logistics scheme for Crimea and Zaporozhye/Kherson area. So the population there already has a different view of things then people living in Kiev for example. There's no simple answer. Ukrainian civilians, and I use the term to detone citizenship, not nationality, are generally not going to be happy with Russia or excited about Russian advances.
Do you have evidence of these thousands of Ukrainian kids you talk about? pictures, videos, etc? the Russians have a hotline which they claim, parents of missing kids can contact, to reunite with their kids. the Russians claim these kids where caught in the cross fire on the frontline and had to be taken to safety, the Russians don't deny having kids that have lost contact with their parents. it's sad to see kids die anywhere in any war, but with you, you like to criticise Russia only. do what you preach or forget about correcting others, it's pathetic
I think this is beyond factual dispute. Russia has evacuated large numbers of Ukrainian citizens from frontline and near-front areas, including children. In some cases entire orphanages were evacuated. This is a logical step and certainly doesn't constitute the claims of "genocide" that have been advanced. But it is a thing that has happened. Russia has in many cases evacuated children across the international border into Russia itself, and placed them in Russian foster care or in a Russian orphanage. And between the bureaucratic issues, the difficulty of getting to Russia for a Ukrainian civilian, and other related issues, there have been multiple cases of parents having a very hard time recovering their children, the process often taking many months. Again this can't credibly be called genocide, but it does need to be understood that a Ukrainian orphan placed in a Russian orphanage will attend Russian school, and be in an information space where the Ukrainian government is considered fascist, and the war to be justified. And Russia isn't a liberal democracy, meaning that actively insisting on the opposite viewpoint certainly would come with consequences. So when we see claims of brainwashing, this is likely what it's referring to, rather than some sort of dedicated conditioning program (none exists to the best of my knowledge) for Ukrainian kids.
