{ Alison }
Shattered Lives
Like millions of people all over the world, I am watching the horrific events in Ukraine unfold; some in real-time on BBC NEWS 24 rolling news. Children (and some adults) in Mariupol have, and are dying of dehydration. They are surrounded by Russian troops who will not allow them to leave. These people have no food, no water. They risk their lives daily, leaving what little shelter they have, to go find water ….. in puddles, in sewers.
I have to keep reminding myself it’s 2022.
I’m constantly questioning the concept of “humanity”.
I despair but something makes me act. I honestly don’t know what that is.
I made this picture after witnessing the targeted bombing on a theatre in Mariupol where between 500 and 1200 people were sheltering. Two very large signs were painted on the ground outside the theatre. These signs simply read “CHILDREN”. The signs were clearly visible from satellites in space.
They would have been clearly visible from the air; and yet Putin’s troops were ordered to strike these defenceless women and children with WMD’s (WEAPONS of MASS DESTRUCTION).
CAN YOU HELP?
Millions of ordinary Ukrainians have lost their loved one’s, their homes, their livelihoods.
Many of these people now have no access to food, clean clothing, warm blankets, shelter, and clean running water.
Please donate if you can, to:
The INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS (HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN UKRAINE) :
www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/europe-central-asia/ukraine
The DISASTERS EMERGENCY COMMITTY (DEC - UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL) :
www.dec.org.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAiAvaGRBhBlEiwAiY-yMLlwl8yvJkI...
Thank you for not looking away.
Hypersonic missiles:
A hypersonic missile travels at speeds of Mach 5 and higher – five times faster than the speed of sound (3836 mph), which is around 1 mile per second. Some missiles, such as Russia’s upcoming Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, are allegedly capable of reaching Mach 10 speeds (7672 mph) and distances up to 1200 miles.
Russia's military has fired a hypersonic ballistic missile and destroyed a big underground arms depot in western Ukraine, the defence ministry in Moscow has said.
If confirmed it would be Russia's first use in this war of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile launched from the air, most likely by a MiG-31 warplane. There is currently no operational or reliable method of intercepting them.
SOURCE : BBC NEWS March 2022
Thermobaric Missiles:
The thermobaric weapon, also known as an aerosol bomb or fuel air explosive, is a two-stage munition.
The first-stage charge distributes an aerosol made up of very fine material – from a carbon-based fuel to tiny metal particles. A second charge ignites that cloud, creating a fireball, a huge shock wave, and a vacuum as it sucks up all surrounding oxygen.
The blast wave can last for significantly longer than a conventional explosive and is capable of vaporising human bodies.
The use of such weapons has yet to be independently confirmed, though footage from Ukraine has shown thermobaric rocket launchers on Russia’s TOS-1 vehicles.
Dr Marcus Hellyer, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said while it was not clear if they had been deployed yet by Russia in Ukraine, it was only “a matter of time”.
SOURCE: The Guardian (Highly regarded British Newspaper) March 2022
Chemical and Biological Weapons:
Biological weapons are armed with disease-causing micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria or other toxins.
They are produced and launched to spread disease and death among people, to target animals and infect livestock and to destroy agriculture, causing food shortages.
The weapons can be delivered by missiles, bombs, hand grenades and rockets, or spray-tanks grafted to aircraft, cars, trucks and boats.
Chemical weapons use toxins or chemical substances that attack the body’s system and are banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997.
Unlike biological weapons, which could take several days to cause maximum harm to victims by spreading diseases, chemical weapons are designed to cause death or injury more quickly.
They can use choking agents to attack the lungs and respiratory system, causing the victim to drown in their own lungs’ secretions.
Other blistering agents, such as mustard gas, can be used to burn and blind people.
Nerve agents, such as novichok, used by two Russian agents in the 2018 Salisbury attack, or VX, are the most toxic of known chemical warfare agents.
Russia could be planning a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine - and "we should all be on the lookout", the White House has said.
They said they were "very concerned" about the risk the war could escalate, and particularly the possibility of Russia using non-conventional weapons.
This most likely refers to chemical weapons although the term also covers tactical (small-scale) nuclear weapons, biological weapons and dirty bombs.
"We've got good reason to be concerned," said one Western official.
They said this was partly because of what had been seen in other places where Russia has been engaged - notably Syria where chemical weapons were used by its allies.
SOURCE : BBC NEWS March 2022
SAM FENDER - HYPERSONIC MISSILES - PLAY
Shattered Lives
Like millions of people all over the world, I am watching the horrific events in Ukraine unfold; some in real-time on BBC NEWS 24 rolling news. Children (and some adults) in Mariupol have, and are dying of dehydration. They are surrounded by Russian troops who will not allow them to leave. These people have no food, no water. They risk their lives daily, leaving what little shelter they have, to go find water ….. in puddles, in sewers.
I have to keep reminding myself it’s 2022.
I’m constantly questioning the concept of “humanity”.
I despair but something makes me act. I honestly don’t know what that is.
I made this picture after witnessing the targeted bombing on a theatre in Mariupol where between 500 and 1200 people were sheltering. Two very large signs were painted on the ground outside the theatre. These signs simply read “CHILDREN”. The signs were clearly visible from satellites in space.
They would have been clearly visible from the air; and yet Putin’s troops were ordered to strike these defenceless women and children with WMD’s (WEAPONS of MASS DESTRUCTION).
CAN YOU HELP?
Millions of ordinary Ukrainians have lost their loved one’s, their homes, their livelihoods.
Many of these people now have no access to food, clean clothing, warm blankets, shelter, and clean running water.
Please donate if you can, to:
The INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS (HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN UKRAINE) :
www.icrc.org/en/where-we-work/europe-central-asia/ukraine
The DISASTERS EMERGENCY COMMITTY (DEC - UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL) :
www.dec.org.uk/?gclid=CjwKCAiAvaGRBhBlEiwAiY-yMLlwl8yvJkI...
Thank you for not looking away.
Hypersonic missiles:
A hypersonic missile travels at speeds of Mach 5 and higher – five times faster than the speed of sound (3836 mph), which is around 1 mile per second. Some missiles, such as Russia’s upcoming Kh-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, are allegedly capable of reaching Mach 10 speeds (7672 mph) and distances up to 1200 miles.
Russia's military has fired a hypersonic ballistic missile and destroyed a big underground arms depot in western Ukraine, the defence ministry in Moscow has said.
If confirmed it would be Russia's first use in this war of the Kinzhal, or Dagger, ballistic missile launched from the air, most likely by a MiG-31 warplane. There is currently no operational or reliable method of intercepting them.
SOURCE : BBC NEWS March 2022
Thermobaric Missiles:
The thermobaric weapon, also known as an aerosol bomb or fuel air explosive, is a two-stage munition.
The first-stage charge distributes an aerosol made up of very fine material – from a carbon-based fuel to tiny metal particles. A second charge ignites that cloud, creating a fireball, a huge shock wave, and a vacuum as it sucks up all surrounding oxygen.
The blast wave can last for significantly longer than a conventional explosive and is capable of vaporising human bodies.
The use of such weapons has yet to be independently confirmed, though footage from Ukraine has shown thermobaric rocket launchers on Russia’s TOS-1 vehicles.
Dr Marcus Hellyer, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said while it was not clear if they had been deployed yet by Russia in Ukraine, it was only “a matter of time”.
SOURCE: The Guardian (Highly regarded British Newspaper) March 2022
Chemical and Biological Weapons:
Biological weapons are armed with disease-causing micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria or other toxins.
They are produced and launched to spread disease and death among people, to target animals and infect livestock and to destroy agriculture, causing food shortages.
The weapons can be delivered by missiles, bombs, hand grenades and rockets, or spray-tanks grafted to aircraft, cars, trucks and boats.
Chemical weapons use toxins or chemical substances that attack the body’s system and are banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997.
Unlike biological weapons, which could take several days to cause maximum harm to victims by spreading diseases, chemical weapons are designed to cause death or injury more quickly.
They can use choking agents to attack the lungs and respiratory system, causing the victim to drown in their own lungs’ secretions.
Other blistering agents, such as mustard gas, can be used to burn and blind people.
Nerve agents, such as novichok, used by two Russian agents in the 2018 Salisbury attack, or VX, are the most toxic of known chemical warfare agents.
Russia could be planning a chemical or biological weapon attack in Ukraine - and "we should all be on the lookout", the White House has said.
They said they were "very concerned" about the risk the war could escalate, and particularly the possibility of Russia using non-conventional weapons.
This most likely refers to chemical weapons although the term also covers tactical (small-scale) nuclear weapons, biological weapons and dirty bombs.
"We've got good reason to be concerned," said one Western official.
They said this was partly because of what had been seen in other places where Russia has been engaged - notably Syria where chemical weapons were used by its allies.
SOURCE : BBC NEWS March 2022
SAM FENDER - HYPERSONIC MISSILES - PLAY