Russia - worrying?

[David1819]

All I can say is, that's the end of him.

He is alive and well in Turkey. If you have a linkedin profile you can see him uploading photos of himself there.

[Roch]

Its not true.

https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-cloutier-captured/fact-check-nato-chief-cloutier-not-captured-in-ukraine-idUSL2N2W914L

Interesting David.

[lookout]

It would seem that a lot of them are in Turkey ? Not a country to be trusted.

[Roch]

He is alive and well in Turkey. If you have a linkedin profile you can see him uploading photos of himself there.

I'm not saying it's not him - but that could be arranged as a contingency plan in the event he was captured. Then again, his 'capture' could be load of tosh.

[David1819]

I'm not saying it's not him - but that could be arranged as a contingency plan in the event he was captured. Then again, his 'capture' could be load of tosh.

Of course its BS. He is Chief of Nato Allied Land Command. You don't have someone of that rank and age in the middle of a battlezone.

[Roch]

Looks like insufficient evidence so far, regarding the alleged chemical release...
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/12/did-russia-really-use-chemical-weapons-mariupol-ukraine-expert-remain-sceptical

However, the news in general is not good with Putin claiming peace talks have reached a dead end and the Mayor of Mariupol claiming 20,000 people have died in the city. 

[lookout]

I wish I'd kept my Mickey Mouse gas mask from WWII ! We're going to need them I think 

[Roch]

I wish I'd kept my Mickey Mouse gas mask from WWII ! We're going to need them I think 

Can you remember this Lookout?

[lookout]

Can you remember this Lookout?

Only pictures in the newspapers after the war ended, Roch. I was five but remember my gas-mask and the Anderson shelter in the garden because mum wouldn't go in an air-raid shelter.
I also remember big planes overhead from the US air base at Burtonwood, then in 1945/6 loads of army lorries heading to Liverpool, some carrying aeroplane parts.   
Fortunately we weren't near Liverpool who were hit hard, but I know my mum was out of her mind when she heard the German planes ( Doodlebugs ) 12 miles away as when the engines stopped the bomb was released.

[gringo]

What's the craic with this?

     Not sure. The "evidence" either way is sketchy. The Linkedin posts could be done by any staffer and are old pictures so are not confirmation of Cloutiers well being. Despite this I suspect that this is a rumour. Devastating if true and I would not be entirely surprised.
      Whether Cloutier has been captured/trapped, it is now explicitly stated by Zelensky(Under NATO orders?) that they want to trade to get 1,000 trapped forces out of Azovstal. To this end they have paraded arrested opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk (handcuffed and dishevelled ) on TV.
      Ukrainian forces are surrendering en masse, tens of thousands caught in a cauldron in Donetsk but these 1,000 or whatever trapped Nazis in Azovstal are causing apoplexy to NATO countries for reasons yet to be explained.
     We will see soon enough but I expect that there are NATO "trainers" and operatives there.

[gringo]

    Here Liz Truss weighs in:

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Liz Truss
@trussliz

United Kingdom government official
Reports that Russian forces may have used chemical agents in an attack on the people of Mariupol. We are working urgently with partners to verify details.
 
Any use of such weapons would be a callous escalation in this conflict and we will hold Putin and his regime to account.

     Curiouser and curiouser.
     To be clear, these reports of chemical agents being used are coming from the Nazis holed up in Azovstal. These are the "partners" that Liz Truss refers to "working urgently" with.
     Questions, questions.

[gringo]

     The latest sitrep from Nightvision on the Saker:

     http://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-8/

    Situation collapsing for Ukraine and their NATO sponsors.

[gringo]

    Zelensky posted the pictures of opposition politician on his Telegram channel. Offered him in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners.
    Imagine the press that Putin(or any non allied leader) would get if he paraded beaten and handcuffed politicians on his personal social media channel offering crude and cynical trades for captured forces. Very Statesmanlike and Presidential.
    The crude gangsterism will not even be commented on by Western media.

[David1819]

Putler ‘purges’ 150 FSB agents in response to Russia’s botched war with Ukraine.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-purges-150-fsb-agents-in-response-to-russias-botched-war-with-ukraine-lf9k6tn6g

[Roch]

Only pictures in the newspapers after the war ended, Roch. I was five but remember my gas-mask and the Anderson shelter in the garden because mum wouldn't go in an air-raid shelter.
I also remember big planes overhead from the US air base at Burtonwood, then in 1945/6 loads of army lorries heading to Liverpool, some carrying aeroplane parts.   
Fortunately we weren't near Liverpool who were hit hard, but I know my mum was out of her mind when she heard the German planes ( Doodlebugs ) 12 miles away as when the engines stopped the bomb was released.

Hi Lookout, I was only joking. The image is from WW1.