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Russian Strike On Ukrainian Training Ground Results In Mass Casualties
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 - 09:00 AM

Despite ongoing US-backed efforts to get Russians and Ukrainians to the negotiating table again, days after last week's Istanbul talks, both warring sides have on Wednesday ramped up tit-for-tat assaults on each other's territory.

Ukrainian drones have once again threatened the Moscow region, leading to the capital's four airports temporarily suspending nearly all flights for a period on Wednesday.

Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports halted inbound and outbound flights, and Sheremetyevo suspended arrivals, the country's Federal Air Transport Agency confirmed, after air defense missile systems downed three inbound drones on Moscow.
Russian MOD image: Russian ministry of defense video showed the training ground shortly before the missile strike.

"Emergency services are working at the crash sites," an official Moscow city statement said. The Defense Ministry had earlier in the day said it destroyed 159 Ukrainian inbound drones overnight. Drones threatened several regions across southern Russia, as well as at least 40 UAVs spotted over Crimea.

Ukraine on Wednesday announced that six of its servicemen were killed, and at least ten more were wounded when a missile attack struck a training camp in northeast Ukraine's Sumy region the day prior.


However, Russia's defense ministry said the death toll was much higher, according to its intelligence estimates. It indicated the missile attack "killed up to 70 Ukrainian service members, including 20 instructors."

Like many other such mass casualty events of late, it will likely be impossible to confirm which said has the accurate casualty numbers, given 'fog of war' and lack of journalistic access on the ground to many of these sites.

The location was reportedly a shooting range, according to Ukraine's national guard, which further said the commander of the unit had been suspended. The strike happened during the light of day.

Russia's MoD released a grim video which strongly suggests true casualty numbers are actually very high after the attack:
https://x.com/HavryshkoMarta/status/1924989853105615187?ref_src=twsrc%
5Etfw

Ukraine's military leadership has in some regions had a ban in place of large gatherings of troops or training which takes place out in the open, given the ever-present danger of missile and drone attacks from Russia. Reuters notes that "During more than three years of Russia's full-scale invasion, Moscow's forces have inflicted casualties in attacks on Ukrainian military educational institutions and various formal outdoor gatherings.

This large-scale attack on the training ground comes at a time of increased domestic division and infighting within Ukraine, including apparently within the military command.

For example, one high-ranking commander has within the past week reportedly resigned in disgust:

Oleksandr Shyrshyn, battalion commander of the 47 Separate Mechanized Brigade, has submitted his resignation, sharply criticizing Ukraine’s military leadership for what he described as senseless orders and unnecessary casualties.

"I have never received more stupid objectives than in the current direction," Shyrshyn wrote in a blunt Facebook post announcing his decision on May 16. "Someday I will tell you the details, but the stupid loss of people, trembling in front of a stupid generals, leads to nothing but failures."

"I hope your children will also serve in the infantry and carry out your orders," he added.


This is probably why Kiev authorities are taking such pains to investigate the Sumy training ground attack. The Zelensky government is trying to assure the population that it's war policy is not "senseless" - also at a time recruiters continue brutally rounding up fresh recruits, in some instances from off the streets or from inside cafes and restaurants.

This war of attrition is becoming increasingly unpopular among Ukrainians, and is certainly being met with 'war weariness' among Western populations, whose tax dollars have been propping up the Ukrainian war machine. This is also why President Trump has been urging both sides to end the "bloodbath" and senseless killing.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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When I look at the original information, translated into English, Medvedev did claim yesterday that Russia needs to consult Ukraine’s Constitution to identify who to negotiate with because, at the moment, there is nobody to negotiate with.

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Zelensky issued a decree making it ILLEGAL to negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is in power.

That decree has not been rescinded.

Altho Russia is negotiating with Ukraine, Russia runs the risk of having any negotiated agreement declared illegal by Ukraine bc their negotiators don't have legal authority to negotiate.

In addition, Zelensky has outstayed his term of office. I posted links to, and relevant parts of, the Ukrainian Constitution, and it doesn't allow for extending the President's term of office for ANY reason, so who can legally sign an agreement? I presume the head of the Rada.

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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

AMERICANS SUPPORT AMERICA

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St. Petersburg, May 20 - RIA Novosti. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev called the lack of persons authorized to conclude a peace treaty in Ukraine a big problem. "It has been said more than once that among the main set of actors of the Ukrainian regime there are no persons who are authorized to conclude a peace treaty. And this is a big problem," Medvedev said at the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. The XIII St. Petersburg International Legal Forum is being held from May 19 to 21 in St. Petersburg. RIA Novosti is the general media partner of SPBILF 2025.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Zelensky issued a decree making it ILLEGAL to negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is in power.

That decree has not been rescinded.

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Originally posted by second:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Zelensky issued a decree making it ILLEGAL to negotiate with Russia as long as Putin is in power.

That decree has not been rescinded.

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While it's a common misconception, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not issue a decree that explicitly makes it illegal for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia as long as Vladimir Putin is in power.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Zelensky+issued+a+decree+making+it+ILL
EGAL+to+negotiate+with+Russia+as+long+as+Putin+is+in+power.+

Signym, you are ridiculous. So are the Russians. That is why you and they struggle so mightily against, in the final analysis, problems that normal people easily avoid.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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According to the President, the document allowed to cut off all communication channels that the Kremlin was trying to establish through various politicians.

Zelenskyy emphasized that the decision had brought results, which is why dictator Vladimir Putin is so concerned about the decree. The president said this at a joint press conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

The Guarantor noted that the Kremlin leader tried to put pressure on Ukraine through various agents and separatists. To stop these backroom negotiations, the National Security and Defense Council issued a corresponding decision.

"The decision of the National Security and Defense Council, why I signed this decree, is because Putin began to quickly build a large number of agents, together with separatists, together with representatives of other states, to influence Ukraine, our independence, and me directly. Many negotiations, shadowy ones, in the corridor, I stopped it quickly, I just stopped separatism in our country," Zelenskyy said.

The President also explained that Russia tried to exert pressure through MPs and even representatives of the EU and the US. A decision was made to take control of this process.

"They exerted pressure through the deputy corps of citizens of our country and the Euro deputy corps of our colleagues and the United States. There were many negotiation platforms. I just realized that we and our respective authorities could not control it. So I made an absolutely fair decision. I am the president of Ukraine,[is he?] I am the leader of certain negotiations, and I have banned everyone else, " the president explained.

The President hinted that one of those with whom Putin tried to establish contact was former MP Viktor Medvedchuk, who was later arrested and exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers. Moreover, the Kremlin tried to negotiate through representatives of certain institutions.

"I understand that Putin does not like this because he has many channels, there are channels that everyone knows about, because the relevant people were arrested, and then we exchanged them for our military. They also used other channels, even in some of our institutions, which I am not yet ready to talk about publicly," the head of state emphasized.
<MEDIA>@https://cdn.membrana.video

As a reminder, on January 24, dictator Vladimir Putin made a number of statements through Russian propaganda media about the Kremlin's alleged readiness to "negotiate on the Ukrainian issue." At the same time, he accused Ukraine of being unwilling to sit down at the negotiating table and hinted that he and US President Donald Trump should decide Ukraine's fate.

Earlier, the head of the OP, Andrii Yermak, said that the dictator is trying to promote the idea of negotiations with the United States on Ukraine but without Ukraine's participation. But this does not work in the modern world.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

SECOND, you have a tactic of twisting a snippet or word out of context.
So I found an image of the ENTIRE decree on X, in Ukrainian, and its a page long. Haven't been able to get it translated, but here is Zelensky's rationale for the decree:

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Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Serial child rapist Zelensky is the only traitor in Ukraine.

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"I don't find this stuff amusing anymore." ~Paul Simon

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Originally posted by second:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

SECOND, you have a tactic of twisting a snippet or word out of context.
So I found an image of the ENTIRE decree on X, in Ukrainian, and its a page long. Haven't been able to get it translated, but here is Zelensky's rationale for the decree:

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Don't ask Russians.

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Ask the man who wrote the decree about what it means. He will tell you

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In the fall of 2022, Zelensky signed a decree that "stated the impossibility of holding negotiations with Russian President Putin,"
"He (Putin) does not know what dignity and honesty are. We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with a different president of Russia," Zelensky said at the time.

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Didn't Zelensky impose a ban on talks with Putin?

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According to a source [who?] in Ukraine's president's office, the decree was a "signal to those in Ukraine who wanted to speak (to Russians) bypassing the central government."

"Back then we stated the impossibility, now we can state the possibility, the president as the head of state determines this," the source added. "There is no ban as such, the Russians twisted it."

At the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia sought to negotiate with a peculiar assortment of Ukrainian politicians. Without specifying names, the president of Ukraine said that those involved in the behind-the-scenes efforts were later arrested and exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs). Presumably, Zelensky referred to Viktor Medvedchuk, the pro-Kremlin politician who was arrested and sent to Russia amid a prisoner swap in September 2022.

The president of Ukraine did NOT allegedly forbid himself from communicating with Putin. [He just forbade other people from communicating with Putin. Note: Ukrainian source just inadvertently confirmed that there WAS a "ban", since communication was "forbidden".] That would be illogical. The president of Ukraine forbade various Ukrainian traitors from negotiating with Russia.

Ukrainian lawmaker and chair of the parliament's foreign affairs committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, told the Kyiv Independent that the problem lies in the interpretation of the decree.

"This has given rise to false interpretations. The fact that the president allegedly forbade himself from communicating with Putin. No, that's illogical," he said.

According to Ukraine's constitution, the president represents the state in international relations, manages foreign policy, and negotiates and concludes international treaties on behalf of Ukraine.

"The constitution is always above a presidential decree," Merezhko said. "The constitution clearly says that he (the president) negotiates. That is, he decides with whom to negotiate, when to negotiate, and in what format," he added.

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"The decree was aimed at preventing attempts and prohibiting others from conducting any negotiations with Putin."

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Originally posted by second:

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Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Serial child rapist Zelensky is the only traitor in Ukraine.

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"I don't find this stuff amusing anymore." ~Paul Simon

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I'm pretty sure, just going on experience with a few thousand Trumptards, that they are tax cheaters, rapists, liars, and thieves, by which I mean they should not be trusted with any kind of responsibility, whether contractual, marital, or professional. That's probably why Trumptards' lives are difficult. Other Americans notice how irresponsible Trump and his Trumptards are and that has high costs for the Trumptards.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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