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IMO, Russia will have to pay a huge price to take Mariupol. Thousands of Russians dead. The paradox of urban warfare is the more you bomb it, the more rubble you create, the more you help the defenders. Rubblized buildings become like bomb-proof bunkers extremely costly to take.
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The Battle of Mariupol. #urbanwarfare of the worst kind. 100,000 to 170,000 civilians trapped inside the battle area. House 2 house, intense combat. Ukrainian fighters still have defending advantages and strong pockets of resistance. Rubble is strong. Map: militaryland.net/tag/maps/
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"there is nothing...no water, no food, no medicine, no life...But Mariupol does not give up. Mariupol continues to fight the occupiers. Its defenders had a choice - they could leave the city and give it to the Russian invaders. They did not." @ZelenskyyUa president.gov.ua/en/news/promov…
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This is an act of a desperate military #Russia Men fighting for money to eat. This equals a weak force. No will to fight. "Social media in Syria has been flooded with requests for people to join Russian troops in return for up to $7,000 for deployment." bbc.com/news/av/world-…
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This warms my heart!! Good over evil. Godspeed to them all!! That looks like a lethal, motivated, cohesive fighting formation to me with the support of their nation. Honestly touches me to my core. twitter.com/walterlekh/sta…
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Australian Bushmasters will be sent to Ukraine. "A Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle is an armoured vehicle designed to carry and rapidly deploy up to 10 battle-ready troops." abc.net.au/news/2022-04-0…
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"U.S. Will Help Transfer Soviet-Made Tanks to Ukraine." Very needed, now. I look forward to them getting there quickly. "The Soviet-made tanks will allow Ukraine to conduct long-range artillery strikes on Russian targets in the eastern Donbas region" nytimes.com/2022/04/01/us/…
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Genocide committed in Ukraine! Reports/photos show civilians w/their hands tied behind their backs, shot in head. Could be thousands. Mass graves. Massacre of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv. I pray the cover of all our newspapers tomorrow show front page. The U.S. must intervene!
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Thank you @AliVelshi It is time to act! twitter.com/AliVelshi/stat…
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Ukraine needs the U.S. not just weapons! This is a test of our national values. What we stand for. What I served for. What my family serves for. To protect the innocent. To stop evil in the war. It is time! twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/…
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I’m struggling with the words to describe the genocide committed in mass, deliberately by Russian soldiers. War crimes not good enough. Evil. There is a world of difference from bombing civilians (saying military targets) to intimate, close killing of civilians w/their hands tied
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Hard to not get emotional about my feelings for the war crimes, genocide, evil we are seeing the Russian military do to Ukrainian civilians. I speak for myself, I want nations to intervene. Now. twitter.com/VelshiMSNBC/st…
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"It has to change everyones thinking...it takes an intimate special kind of evil to wrap the hands of civilians & shoot them in the back of the head. If we...don't stand up, why are we a superpower?" My full talk w/ @AliVelshi on @VelshiMSNBC this morning. youtube.com/watch?v=MhhgIA…
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I disagree with anyone that says what we are seeing in Ukraine just happens in war. Just what Russia does, has done. Or just acts of untrained, undisciplined conscripts. IMO & from what I've seen this is organized, unit level, mass genocide. Either ordered/allowed systematically
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Mariupol still stands. "Ukrainian forces still control the part of Azovstal plant, the southern area near harbor and the northern parts." militaryland.net/ukraine/invasi…
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We must intervene. Do much much more than we are today. I hope tomorrow we hear from @POTUS with bi-partisan effort. We are the leaders of the free world. We cannot let this continue. twitter.com/Klitschko/stat…
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Version 4 of "The Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender" is out. Updated translations coming. Available to download as PDF. Updates include basic ambush (upon request) content, basic medical lifesaving steps, a little more on water purification, UXO safety. johnspenceronline.com/urban-warfare
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Civilians can't get out of Mariupol. There should be a cease fire and international oversight to help those trying to get transportation in, who can't get there because of Russian checkpoints!
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Great leaders rise to the moment. @ZelenskyyUa has done that daily, even in the face of crushing Russian horrors! twitter.com/KyivIndependen…
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Version 4 of "The Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender" is out. Updated translations coming. Available to download as PDF. Updates include basic ambush (upon request) content, basic medical lifesaving steps, a little more on water purification, UXO safety. johnspenceronline.com/urban-warfare
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ICYMI. Version 4 of "The Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender," out this week with updates that include basic life-saving medical care, UXO safety, and much more. Availibe to download as a PDF. Updated translations coming. #IStandWithUkraine johnspenceronline.com/urban-warfare
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Bucha should have changed everything. Today U.S. committed $100 million to security assistance for Ukraine (making $2.4 billion so far). For context. Around the time I deployed to Iraq in 2008 (2nd time) the U.S. was spending more than $9 billion a MONTH! cbo.gov/sites/default/…
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A lot of changes, positive developments, but also great concern in the east/southern fights. Ukrainian military needs tanks, rockets, artillery, javelins, air defense systems, anti-ship missiles. Now! twitter.com/JominiW/status…
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Yes! You can run, but you can't hide. These butchers will be brought to justice. The world will know their names. twitter.com/KyivIndependen…
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We're getting lots of reports of Russians leaving boobytraps & other dangers in areas they invaded/occupied. Civilians must be careful. Inspect & look at anything they move. Really. Just an extra look underneath things can save lives. Follow 3 R's for UXOs johnspenceronline.com/urban-warfare
Chair of Urban Warfare Studies | Madison Policy Forum | Author of Connected Soldiers / Understanding Urban Warfare