Talk:Russian special operation in Ukraine

February 24
The airport is near Kiev, on the right (Western) bank of the Dnepr.
 * Gostomel (Antonov) airport
 * "Russian helicopters attacking Gostomel airport"
 * Apparently two Russian helicopters shot down, one of them landed and another crashed and exploded, apparently near Gostomel airport (some airport --said by person filming)
 * Apparently, Russian KA-52 helicopter which was hit but landed
 * Russian special forces control perimeter of Antonov airport
 * Landing strip, possibly damaged by Ukrainian shelling
 * Mria, the largest transport plane. (Unconfirmed) reports that it was destroyed when Ukraine shelled Gostomel airport, trying to prevent landings, but other comments that it was elsewhere. Here it appears that last recorded flight was on Feb 5, Billund to Gostomel
 * "Video of the burned An-225 "Mriya" and Russian equipment at the Gostomel airfield near Kiev after Ukrainian shelling, first days of the fighting".

Russian forces are in control of Chernobyl n. power station, 90 km direct/130 km by highway from Gostomel airport
 * Chernobyl


 * Dymer settlement
 * Photo shown by both sides, with opposite purposes, Telegram, February 25


 * Other
 * Melitopol airport hit (Zaporoshskaya region)
 * Said to be Destroyed column of T-64BV tanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the vicinity of Kherson
 * Ukrainian plane shot down, 14 aboard
 * "Destroyed Russian vanguard on bypass road near Kharkov" (unverified)

--Resup (talk) 15:55, 24 February 2022 (UTC)

February, 25
--Resup (talk) 08:49, 25 February 2022 (UTC)
 * A Russian patrol, apparently in Gostomel.
 * One Russian column (Z sign) is destroyed, said to be by Ukrainian artillery, said to be under Kherson. Another video.
 * Said to be abandoned Ukrainian column of military vehicles near Kherson
 * Said to be destroyed Ukrainian military columns, Melitopol' and Buchi city, near Kiev.
 * LPR forces captured NLAW anti-tank weapon (UK/Sweden) . It is claimed that operator fired on residential area in Lopaskino settlement. Shown by a war journalist in the field here
 * Anti-tank mines on a beach near Odessa.

February, 26

 * Missile hits a residential building in Kiev. Suspected Ukrainian air defense missile.
 * Said to be, "Russian Mi-24 destroyed the Ukrainian air defense system "Buk-M1" and other equipment"
 * Said to be Shirokoe airbase, Zaporozhie (map)
 * Stanitsa Luganskaya taken by LPR, Ukrainian forces left, said to be no shots fired.

February, 27
--Resup (talk) 08:05, 27 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Apparently, some RF forces entered Kharkov, while it is attempted to promote resistance on social media (pro - Ukr telegram channels). Those channels report /videorecord locations where forces are seen, and call for attacking them. Resistance strength is uncertain; counter-propaganda is minimal - so propaganda may have effect.
 * Apparently, as a result of the above a column of light Russian vehicles was destroyed, location is given as Shevchenko, Kharkov. Related video. Attributed to Freikorps, which is Nazi-linked name. And they have a telegram channel.
 * Video picked by BBC
 * Ukrainian BTR 4 said to be destroyed nearby the place where RF lost several "Tiger" light armored vehicles
 * Apparently, some RF forces advanced to Kiev from Gostomel. There are some videos, not many.
 * For diplomacy, Russian conditions were stated as recognition of Crimea and neutral status; delegation is sent to Belarus (Gomel)'. Zelensky initiated talks but then backed off, and now reportedly said that Belarus location is not OK. In Russian media it is said that reason for backing off is that conditions are presently considered unacceptable. But those conditions are minimal accepted to Russia, so not accepting them will lead to more casualties and more war.
 * www.president.gov.ua didn’t send any data. ERR_EMPTY_RESPONSE (while social media is full of stuff of all sorts)
 * Irpen', near Kiev, pro-Ukr frontline video.
 * Said to be destroyed column of the Russian Airborne Forces in Bucha, Kiev region. Advancing forces in the morning video, same post.
 * Report on white phosphorous use by Ukraine in Gostomel
 * "Photo of a civilian car shot by the Nazis in Artemovsk in the Donbass. Judging by the damage, the driver and passengers may have been injured' (or killed)
 * Said to be Russian check point near Sumy destroyed (one tank, one light military vehicle)
 * Sumi on the road sign. Alternative description for same video: MTLB and Varta are on fire - a Ukrainian wheeled armored vehicle on the MAZ-5434 chassis
 * I do not think it's MTLB, there is long tank gun and tank silhouette on the longer video; Varta, maybe, that would make checkpoint Ukrainian, not Russian
 * Claimed to be Bairaktar strike on Russian Buk, Malina, Zhitomir region. Russia reports that 3 Bairaktars shot down.
 * "Explosion at a tank plant, Kharkov".

February, 28

 * Russian combat helicopters destroy military targets and convoys

March, 1

 * Missile strike, (next to) Kharkov Regional State Administration, 1, 2, 3, map 1, 2
 * Videos of strikes, Kharkov
 * Explosion, said to be at Chuguev airfield, Kharkov region
 * Explosion near Kiev TV tower 1, 2

March, 3

 * "Chechen special forces defeated the nats battalion and captured the largest military base in Ukraine"
 * Chechen republic soldiers: we passed there minefiled, they run from us.
 * "Roofed" Russian tanks T-72B3 and T-72B3M pass through the checkpoint of the "terrodefense" forces and activists supporting them in Energodar city.
 * "First captured FGM-148 Javelin" (top of BTR, presumably).
 * Sunk flagship of the Ukrainian fleet, the frigate Getman Sagaidachny, formerly Kirov.
 * "Nighttime firefight at Zaporshkaya nuc power station", "no fire towards the reactor, no spike in radiation"

March, 5

 * Apparently, Russian SU-24 shot down near Chernigov, pilots bailed out; but it is said that one of them was killed, another captured 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
 * Two Chechen battalions on Ukrainian side
 * Tank with roof, unclear what happened
 * Apparently, Russian convoy, many trucks and one BTR destroyed, location, circumstances unknown
 * "Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with an American M240V machine gun and a British NLAW ATGM are somewhere in a kindergarten converted for the needs of the army"
 * "Civilians who managed to escape from Mariupol told how it was"
 * Residents of Mariupol gathered to evacuate, but the Nazis of "Azov" do not let them leave. Let's be objective. Mayors of cities are not to blame. They are being held hostage by the Nazis. (mig41)
 * "Sparta" commander Vokha is killed, said to be while evacuating civilians from Volnovakha
 * ''Today the battalion "Sparta" helped to evacuate the residents of Volnovakha. To get out of the city, you need to drive through a dangerous section of the highway, which is actively shot through by the Ukrainian military. Under the cover of the Sparta battalion, the @wargonzo military correspondent team helped a family with a sick child get to Bugas, a settlement that is now completely under the control of the People's Militia of the DPR. [An hour and a half later, Voha, the commander of the Spartans, died saving another family who were trying to leave the city.


 * WarGonzo: Voha's last video. Here the battalion commander of Sparta - tells the relatives of the residents of Volnovakha, who asked to take their loved ones out of the shelling - that as soon as the opportunity arises, he will do it. After 30 minutes, he went to fulfill his promise. An hour and a half later, I was informed of his death.

March, 8

 * "The Nazis themselves document their crimes. On the published video, the militant tells desperate people that there will be no evacuation, allegedly because of the shelling of the humanitarian corridors. And on the recording at this time, the sound of an outgoing howitzer shot is perfectly audible."

POWs

 * Russian/pro-Russian
 * Said to be in Kharkov area, 26 Feb.
 * several from the same unit, 27 Feb
 * Prisoner in Kharkov, from Sevastopol
 * "Refused to say Glory to Ukraine"
 * Glory to Russia, (not) Ukraine
 * "Russian Major", "near Melitopol". No details, no name or military unit number; may be fake (eg to show not too bad treatment)

Last updated --Resup (talk) 12:37, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
 * Ukrainian
 * 82 POWs taken in Zmeinyi island. Another 13 guards resisted and were killed.
 * Said to be large number of prisoners ("almost 500") taken near Kharkov, 302 Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment

Analysis

 * Михаил Онуфриенко mikle1

Mariupol
What the hell is happening on this video? -- Petri Krohn (talk) 18:17, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
 * 🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡️⚡️⚡️ Ukrainian troops do not let people out of Mariupol, many are shot. Total chaos began in the city and its environs.
 * Dear residents of Mariupol, try not to move around the city. Mariupol will soon be liberated!
 * https://t.me/intelslava/20724
 * Don't really know. The only intelligible word is "Bitch!" (expletive), said by the driver filming the incident, in Russian. before he speeds off and likely getting shot at. Other shouts, by armed men, and screams of passengers are unintelligible. Some checkpoint or random stop by armed men in military fatigues , not seen well enough, presumably Ukrainian or Nazi bat. Mariupol is being squeezed from East and West, leaving few outroads open. Armed men could be after the vehicle (or just into rampage of violence). When dangerous people are arrested, it would not be unusual to lay them face down rather forcibly, but this does not look like arrest of dangerous persons, it looks more like assault, likely to get the vehicle.  --Resup (talk) 20:36, 26 February 2022 (UTC)
 * DAN: ''Ukrainian security forces and militants of the national battalions seized buses, including large-capacity buses, from the Mariupol tram and trolleybus department. “They took away our city buses, including 'accordions'. They are preparing to ride them out of the city. They're going to Zaporozhye"  --Resup (talk) 22:09, 26 February 2022 (UTC)

Separate operations
There are two separate operations:

-- Petri Krohn (talk) 17:33, 24 February 2022 (UTC)
 * 1) L/DNR operation to liberate the occupied parts of the former oblasts. No Russian forces are involved, only artillery support. (Huge Smerch strike on the Lugansk front.)
 * 2) Russian operation to A) demilitarize B) denazify Ukraine. Phase 2A seems to be almost finished. 2B needs boots on the ground.

Claims of Ukrainian attack plans
I'd day, not clear cut, whether documents prove the claim. Of course Ukrainians were preparing, had big numbers superiority over L/DPR, and presented a hanging threat, in addition to unending shelling. But I do not see that this document alone providing overwhelming evidence of large scale Ukrainian offensive; this may be a matter of interpretation.

What seems to me likely is that this slowly degrading situation (aka 'death by thousands of cuts"), and no progress or remaining hope that diplomacy will work led to 'siloviki' (forces) in Russian leadership  taking upper hand over liberal pro-Western globalists, and decision was taken by siloviki, or developed itself into being taken (once the other side/approach had no achievement to demonstrate in support of their approach).  And once it was siloviki on top, it just happened, like, after earlier first deployment of forces to prevent Ukrainian attack leading nowhere with accusations of bluffing; and/or after threats during diplomatic attempts issued to act if conditions are not met were rejected and no action immediately followed, presented by some as weakness. Once 'force people' took upper hand, military solution followed (Strelkov was talking about inevitability of such development for many years) --Resup (talk) 21:25, 9 March 2022 (UTC)