Blazingcatfur

KHARKIV, Ukraine — Tamara Halishnikova doesn’t remember how long the attack targeting her and other residents trying to escape the Russian-occupied village of Kurylivka lasted.

All she remembers are the sounds that rang out as the column of vehicles made its way along a railway embankment that late-September morning.

“There was an explosion, then automatic-weapons fire, then more explosions, then we went to the embankment, then gunfire, gunfire, gunfire,” she said, speaking at a press conference to RFE/RL at a hospital in Kharkiv less than two weeks later.

#Ukraine: Ukrainian force destroyed a Russian T-72B3 tank somewhere on the front- possibly with a precision artillery strike. pic.twitter.com/U32cHfxMed

— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) October 6, 2022

This sobering reflection on nuclear warfare on the Policy Tensor Substack has been making the rounds. Strongly urge you to read it. Excerpts:

Whether or not the annexed territories shall be considered Russian territory is not the important question. At this stage in the conflict, the important question is not even whether Russian elites believe that preventing Ukraine from becoming a Western bulwark is a vital Russian interest; although as CIA Director Burns wrote, it is indeed “the reddest of red lines” for Russian elites. Rather, as often happens in military conflict, the stakes have risen dramatically for Russia. Russia’s entire world position is now at stake. For if Russia cannot avoid military humiliation in Ukraine, it will not survive as a great power.

YIKES!!

The Kremlin has welcomed a news report that US intelligence believes a bomb attack that killed a Russian commentator and journalist outside Moscow in August was authorised by Ukrainian government officials.

The report in the New York Times about the car bomb attack on Darya Dugina has not been confirmed and has been denied by Kyiv. The report said “parts” of the Ukrainian government were involved in the 20 August blast outside Moscow and that the US had no prior knowledge, provided no intelligence or other assistance, would have opposed it and “admonished” Ukrainian officials about it afterwards.