Local officials from Russia’s ruling party have caused controversy by presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders, an appliance widely used to describe Russia’s brutal tactics on the front line.
The United Russia party in the northern Murmansk region posted photographs on social media showing officials smiling as they visited bereaved mothers with gifts of flowers and boxed meat grinders for International Women’s Day on Saturday, which is widely celebrated in Russia.
The post included a message thanking the “dear moms” for their “strength of spirit and the love you put into bringing up your sons.” It said the gifts were the initiative of the women’s wing of the party.
Photo: AP
Some online commentators called the gesture as “shameful” and “inappropriate.”
Russia is often accused of throwing its frontline soldiers into a “meat grinder” with scant regard for their lives. The Russian word for meat grinder, myasorubka, has the same double meaning as in English.
It refers to a tactic in which small groups of soldiers are sent into attack, one after another, in waves, risking heavy losses, with the aim of eventually wearing out and overpowering Ukrainian troops.
The party’s local branch in the town of Polyarniye Zori defended itself against the online backlash, saying critics were making “callous and provocative interpretations” of its gifts.
United Russia cited Polyarniye Zori Mayor Maxim Chengayev, who participated in the handover of gifts, as saying that meat grinders were not originally intended to be included, but “one woman asked for it, and we of course could not say no.”
The local party later posted a video in which one of the soldiers’ mothers awkwardly thanked the party for the gifts and confirmed that she had asked for a meat grinder because she needed one.
Russia has rarely given any figures for its losses in Ukraine and the true toll is unknown, but independent media put it at many tens of thousands.
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also
RSS