Posted by: Calgary Guy | Mar 16 2022 18:28 utc | 77
“So Russia is giving up on denazification?”
Until Russia explicitly says so, no, they haven’t. They’re just not emphasizing it in preference to their main concerns.
I’m not even sure they want “neutrality” – they want a pro-Russian government that will be like Belarus. Besides, they know that the current Ukraine government can’t agree to anything because Zelensky does not control it. The neo-Nazis and the CIA control it. So all these “negotiations” are just a fig leaf to drag things out while Russia establishes its terms on the ground. If Ukraine agrees to anything, fine. But Russia isn’t holding its breath over it.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 16 2022 20:28 utc | 103

I could be wrong but I reckon there’ll be a deal within a week or two maximum, and that deal will basically recognise Russian demands. No NATO, no nuclear weapons in Ukraine, perhaps exclusion of Azov from power. Russia will withdraw. But no-one will publicly disown their positions. If they don’t, Ukraine’s position could seriously deteriorate. All the majority of the Ukrainian army who we’ve never heard from but who must be stuck facing Donbas, and encircled or nearly, will be about ready to surrender. That would be a serious loss of face for the west. There are signs already, Zelensky’s statement yesterday, that Ukraine will never be a member of NATO. That was a preparatory sign. that he’s ready to come to a deal.

Posted by: laguerre | Mar 16 2022 20:39 utc | 105

Posted by: the pessimist | Mar 16 2022 19:01 utc | 84
“It is also not clear to me that the Russian aid and support to communities within the areas they have captured is sufficiently well thought out and tailored to help win ‘hearts and minds’.”
Based on what evidence? As I mentioned in the earlier thread, the Russian humanitarian assistance is massive – probably the largest ever done in a modern military context. Not only is Russia moving literally thousands of tons of humanitarian aid directly to the affected Ukrainian communities, they are evacuating tens of thousands of Ukrainian – not just in the Donbass – into Russia where they are being provided every need, including IIRC the provision of Ukrainian children into schools temporarily so as not to impede their education.
Besides, as I’ve said before, it doesn’t matter what the Ukrainian population thinks in the end. As long as the new Ukrainian government is reoriented to a pro-Russian position, and Russia assists Ukraine to recover economically by the sort of deal Yanukovich was negotiating for, any lasting dislike towards Russia will be politically neutered.
Posted by: Martina | Mar 16 2022 19:57 utc | 93
“Ukraine considers becoming neutral – like Austria.”
No, it does not. Zelensky just explicitly rejected neutrality.
Ukraine rejects Russian neutrality proposals, says peace deal must offer security
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/03/16/Ukraine-rejects-Russian-neutrality-proposals-says-peace-deal-must-offer-security-
What he wants is for the West to guarantee Ukraine’s security against Russia? How is this in any way different from wanting to join NATO? And yet you still consider this clown to have “agency”? Seriously?
When are you going to get the picture that Zelensky is a drug-addled non-entity controlled on the one hand by the neo-Nazis and on the other the CIA? He does not have “agency”. If he makes one move toward concessions to Russia, either the CIA will withhold his cocaine or the neo-Nazis will put a bullet in his head.
Posted by: laguerre | Mar 16 2022 20:39 utc | 104
“Zelensky’s statement yesterday, that Ukraine will never be a member of NATO. That was a preparatory sign. that he’s ready to come to a deal.”
See above. He just rejected any deal.
People need to stop believing in Zelensky. This guy is NOT IN CONTROL. The Russian know that. These “negotiations” are just to show the Russians are engaging in them while they establish facts on the ground. If they get some sort of agreement, fine. Why not? But they don’t expect to get any.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 16 2022 20:48 utc | 107

@Arioch | Mar 16 2022 20:06 utc | 96
I have now words… RIP …what a crime!

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 20:49 utc | 109

Larry Johnson on “The American and British Delusion–Russia May Only Have 14 Days”
https://sonar21.com/the-american-and-british-delusion-russia-may-only-have-14-days/

When I saw this headline today I assumed it was from the Babylon Bee (a terrific satirical blog)–Russia May Only Have 14 Days. Nope. It was Newsmax. Here’s a snippet from that article:
“The Russian military may only be able to sustain the fight in Ukraine for another 14 days, the Daily Mailis reporting.
The newspaper, attributing the information of U.K. defense sources, said that after two weeks the Russian forces may struggle to hold the ground they captured in Ukraine.
The sources maintain the Russian army is on the run. And the sources claim the resistance in Ukraine should be greater than the invading force within 14 days.
If you believe this nonsense please send me your name and address. I have a bridge to sell you in Kiev. Here’s the reality–there is a No Fly Zone over Ukraine and it is imposed by Russia.
This article is so absurd and out of touch with reality that it must be addressed. I will start by asking two questions:
How many times in the last 19 days has a Ukrainian regiment or battalion engaged a comparable Russian unit and forced the Rooskies to retreat?
How many times in the last 19 days has Ukrainian artillery or fixed/rotary wing aircraft attacked a Russian military column and destroyed it?
Answer to both–NONE. ZERO. ZIPPO. ZILCH.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 16 2022 20:53 utc | 111

Courtesy of The Saker, in this case…
Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry
https://t.me/mod_russia_en/208

Briefing by Russian Defence Ministry
The grouping of troops of the Lugansk People’s Republic, developing the offensive, are moving forward from several directions inside Severodonetsk.
Units of the Donetsk People’s Republic are fighting for the capture of Maryinka. The advance was 2 kilometers.
On the morning of March 16, high-precision long-range weapons attacked Ukraine’s military infrastructure. As a result of the strike, communication, retransmission and switching hubs were disabled in Vinnytsa.
During the day, aviation and air defence means of the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down 1 Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter Sarany, as well as 6 unmanned aerial vehicles.
Operational-tactical and army aviation hit 34 military assets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Among them: 1 multiple launch rocket system, 3 command posts, 1 electronic warfare station, 7 ammunition depots and 19 areas of military equipment concentration.
In total, 180 aircraft and helicopters, 166 unmanned aerial vehicles, 1,367 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 132 multiple launch rocket systems, 502 field artillery and mortars, as well as 1,156 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.
We know for sure that with the support of Western countries, the Ukrainian Security Service is preparing a provocation with the use of toxic substances against civilians.
The purpose of the provocation is to accuse Russia of using chemical weapons against the population of Ukraine.
I want to officially state that the units of the Russian Armed Forces involved in the special military operation do not have chemical munitions.
The Russian Federation, unlike the United States, has long fulfilled its international obligations by completely destroying all chemical weapons stockpiles.
To prevent any provocations of Ukrainian nationalists with toxic substances, Russian servicemen in the liberated territory take dangerous objects under control and ensure their safety.
I will add that among the combat documentation captured by us in the 4th brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard, there is a detailed map of the territory of Ukraine with objects and types of toxic substances stored on it. Therefore, any attempt of Ukrainian Security Service provocation with the use of toxic substances will be revealed.
We have repeatedly mentioned facts about the atrocities of nationalists terrorizing civilians for any disobedience or attempts to leave settlements.
Today, footage of civilians killed in Chernihov, who were supposedly “shot by Russian servicemen,” was circulated on all propaganda resources of the Kiev regime. It was stated that all victims were allegedly queuing for bread.
I would like to stress the absence Russian servicemen in Chernihov.
All units of the Russian Armed Forces are outside Chernihov, blocking roads, and are not conducting any offensive actions on the city.
There are no traces of ammunition explosions on the video footage replicated by Ukrainian propagandists. All windows in nearby buildings are intact. There is no damage to the walls, there are no other traces of an explosion on the ground.
Thus, all the dead people – victims of the terror of Ukrainian nationalists or these video footage – are another stage of the Security Service of Ukraine. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that simultaneously with Ukrainian Internet resources, this fake was published on the official pages of the US Embassy in Ukraine on social networks without any verification and obtaining evidence.
At the same time, the embassy itself, as you know, has already been relocated from Kiev, to Lvov. And it does not notice how Russian servicemen deliver and distribute hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid to residents of Chernihov region in settlements liberated from nationalists.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 16 2022 20:58 utc | 113

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 20:56 utc | 111
See what readers have sent from Mariupol. If the message corresponds to the facts, it should be highlighted.
” ZELENSKY IS PREPARING TWO PROVOCATIONS IN MARIUPOL!!! – ONE PROVOCATION AGAINST TURKISH CITIZENS WHO HID IN A MOSQUE BUILT BY AKHMETOV, AND THIS PROVOCATION IS ALREADY BEGINNING, BY FIRING UKRAINIAN GUNNERS AT THE MOSQUE’S TERRITORY FROM POSITIONS IN THE BEAM ON THE LOWER KIROVKA, ZELENSKY COULD NOT INVOLVE THE EU, THE US AND THE UK IN THE WAR AGAINST THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. NOW THE EVIL DWARF ZELENSKY IS TRYING TO DRAG TURKEY INTO THE WAR, HOPING FOR EASTERN EXPLOSIVE EMOTIONALITY AND THE LOVE OF BELIEVERS FOR THEIR SHRINES. – ZELENSKY IS PREPARING THE SECOND PROVOCATION FOR A PICTURE IN THE WESTERN MEDIA, AFTER AN UNSUCCESSFUL PROVOCATION WITH THE MATERNITY HOSPITAL, UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS, TOGETHER WITH THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE DRAMA THEATER, GATHERED MARIUPOL WOMEN, CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY IN THE DRAMA THEATER BUILDING, IN ORDER TO UNDERMINE PEOPLE AND HOWL TO THE WHOLE WORLD THAT THIS IS THE AVIATION OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND URGENTLY NEED TO CLOSE THE UKRAINIAN SKY, ETC. AND SO ON. DON ‘T BE SILENT! WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO FIND OUT ABOUT THIS ! ”
Terrible evil if proven true!

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Mar 16 2022 21:02 utc | 115

Bruised Northerner | Mar 16 2022 17:43 utc | 64
wow. that video. western “addiction” to russian petrol products is Putin’s fault (sic, Putin always all about Putin), like US meth addiction is Mexico’s fault (what about opioids, hmmm? i get that American addiction to vodka is Russia’s fault. i totally grock why we think that way.)
and Labor’s K Starmer slams BoJo for going “hat in hand to tyrants” for cheaper gas. and just wtf kind of a different plan does Starmer have? in former colonial outposts, he can outgrovel BoJo in confessing how morally emasculated Europe has become, simply because they need Russia? (need=much more convenient). FFS.
to be honest, there are several important items in that video that have little or zero media attention in the US, most importantly KSA’s mass executions. a little surprising.
——-
in any case, what we learn from the western media is: 1) the people in power are not responsible for anything bad; 2) rather they are the cause of all good, so no future is possible w/o them; 3) yet, quite literally w/a J Biden, these people have been in power since forever.
we in the US are about to get a big taste of what guilt will drive powerful but crumbling people to do. the ruling class have manufactured an unending state of war hysteria, fantasy and denial that can only collapse. what’s going to happen when idols like “no fly zones” are torn down, and so many myths are shredded that the temples of wisdom begin to implode on their own emptiness, tearing the veil on the nothing within the shrine? what will the priests and moneychangers and divinized rulers do?
one thing they will do: get more and more members and elements of the populace to participate in their methods. E.g., spying on the uterus. they’ve gone a long way to brutalizing many in the populace. easy to see among many from the hostility to anything interrupting their capitalist routines, like the coronavirus.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 16 2022 21:06 utc | 117

Norwegian @113–
Yes, agreed. And Biden has the gall to accuse Putin of war crimes when he bears personal responsibility for everything that’s occurred since 2014 in Ukraine.
I see Naryshkin, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service chief, words are in-line with what Putin said in his speech:
“‘Our country is experiencing a truly historic moment right now. The fate of Russia, its future place in the world, is being decided,’ Naryshkin said, speaking at meeting of an expert council on history education on Wednesday. ‘The main factor in the development of Russia, the core of its thousand-year history has been and remains sovereignty – the right to independently, freely and consciously determine its own destiny,’ he added.
“’Sovereignty is a guarantee of the well-being and dignity of our citizens…In such matters, Russia has never retreated and will not retreat, because otherwise it will stop being Russia.'”
In other news, 35% of idiot Americans are willing to go nuclear with Russia over Ukraine. They must think themselves invincible, immune from it all. They clearly haven’t any clue as to reality.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 21:11 utc | 119

Reante number 188
Why is the price of oil so important to whether gold returns as a backer of currency?
Posted by: Brother Ma | Mar 16 2022 2:02 utc | 281
Brother Ma, from the Lira thread,
The gold standard was broken at that low 1970s price of about $5/bbl, which was about $25 in real terms, when adjusted for inflation, because gold wasn’t geared for globalization. Gold was an agrarian monetary peg that was adapted for industrialism but never suited it because there’s not enough of it, it’s abstract in that it has no real utility, and it’s doesn’t travel well.
They made do with gold when production costs of crude was cheap and world GDP was relatively low, and industrial financialization hadn’t kicked off because america and Europe still didn’t have consumer economies. It was still feasible to have oil sold in dollars and have those dollars convertible to gold upon demand. Even then national debts got ahead of what gold was able to collateralize, which is why the US during its WW2 dalliance with national socialism under FDR forced Us citizens to sell their gold to the govt for $20/oz and then gold was promptly revalued at $35/oz. Gold wasnt and never will be geared for mid-to-late industrial ambitions.
Granted this is an arbitrary hypothetical metric, but the world’s total national gold reserves aren’t enough to buy the world’s current oil consumption at the current price for a year. It gives you an idea about how the price of oil plays into the viability of returning to a gold standard.
A monster deflationary depression (which is what is coming) would bring prices back down to the prices of the end of the gold standard around 1970, and with all the extinguished debt, gold might adequate collateral again. But it can’t actually work that way, because even the easiest Saudi oil they say cost $50/bbl to get to market which is far too much. Either the oil would stay in the ground or whoever controls the oil will nationalize it. And of course the latter is what will happen, and that nationalized oil will only be available within a bartering regime, and at a very steep ‘cost.’
And only the oil plays that have sufficient EROEI in order to pay for ALL associated costs of industrialism will be going concerns.
Global debt is well over 200 trillion for a reason, and the derivatives market at a quadrillion. Fossil fuels are incredibly energy dense but still they are not paying for themselves. If they were then there wouldn’t be any debt. We haven’t used them wisely. I believe humans aren’t capable of using them wisely. I think that much is obvious.

Posted by: reante | Mar 16 2022 21:16 utc | 121

https://tochka.press/2022/03/16/76680/
Yandex machine translation
The Nazis blew up their headquarters in the Drama Theater of Mariupol, where they were holding hostages
The Nazis from the terrorist battalion “Azov ” (banned in Russia) in Mariupol blew up their headquarters, which was based in the Mariupol Drama Theater and what was known. They held civilians hostage in their headquarters, which was located in the basement of the theater, but on the first floor of the building. Today, the Mariupol Drama Theater was blown up, apparently with civilians inside, hostages of Ukrainian fascists
21: 13, Mariupol, The fact that the main headquarters of the Ukrainian Nazis from Azov was located in the Drama Theater of Mariupol and that they are holding civilians there as hostages, it became known earlier from the captured Nazi of the same terrorist battalion “Azov”. It was also known in advance that these fascists were preparing a bloody provocation in the theater with the death of civilians.
Today, apparently during the retreat, as fighting is already going on in the center of Mariupol, these fascists blew up the theater, apparently with civilians inside. At the same time, according to the already proven propaganda technology, they blamed Russia for this. Allegedly, the Russian Federation dropped a super-powerful aerial bomb on the theater. Which is impossible, since there are fights going on all over the area. In any military conflicts, aviation does not work in those areas where there is a battle with manpower, since such strikes destroy everything, both their own and others’. No army ever goes for it, it’s just plain idiocy.
In addition, Russia does not bomb Ukrainian cities with aerial bombs, which has already been denied dozens of times. There is no need for Russia to do this. In Mariupol, there is a sweep from terrorists and fascists, it is not the first day. And if Russia wanted to bomb it, it wouldn’t have taken so many days of besieging Mariupol and clearing it of terrorists. But Russia is conducting this complex operation only in order to save the lives of peaceful residents of Mariupol, who were taken hostage by these Ukrainian fascists, to which there are hundreds of testimonies from the residents of Mariupol themselves, who are breaking out of the city occupied by the Nazis.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that on the afternoon of March 16, Russian aircraft did not perform any tasks related to striking ground targets in the city of Mariupol. “According to reliable data, the militants of the nationalist battalion “Azov” committed a new bloody provocation, blowing up the theater building they had mined.” “Given the potential danger to the lives of civilians, and the provocation already carried out on March 9 with hospital No. 3 in Mariupol, the theater building in the city center was never considered as a target for destruction, ” the Defense Ministry said.
A captured Nazi from Azov earlier said that the Nazis were planning to blow up a theater with people, and also said that 12 armed Nazis were guarding hostages in the theater’s lobby so that people would not escape. The headquarters of the Ukrainian fascists was located in the basement. Eyewitnesses in Mariupol, local residents, confirmed that earlier in the day, when the forces of the Donbass militia and Chechen special forces approached, the Azov headquarters left there in an unknown direction. Then, apparently, they blew up the building to create a picture for internal Ukrainian fascist propaganda and Western media. And they do so now all over Ukraine. This is the tactic of the real fascists, which they are. During the war, the Nazis mined everything during their retreat, and then blew it up remotely together with civilians, when the Red Army approached. All this has already been recorded in the history of 1941-1945.
The Ukrainian fascists created a similar fake with the maternity hospital of Mariupol, where their headquarters was also located earlier. After setting off a deliberate explosion there, they also accused Russia of launching airstrikes on the maternity hospital. And if you asked what fascism and Nazism are expressed in Ukraine, then this is it!
—-
And at the same time, Biden has found the time to call Putin ‘war criminal’. What a coincidence.

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 21:17 utc | 123

Keith McClary | Mar 16 2022 19:51 utc | 92
you are right, to an extent. people love getting caught up in the stratego and battleship and tic tac toe of this conflict. so much more of it is on twitter and tik tok and telegram than world war 1. the media landscape has changed, which in itself is just so very, so very very, to try and understand and wade thru.
but the possibility of nuclear conflict is more directly involved in Ukraine than Tigray.
still, a salutary reminder that the work of empire is doing its grim reaper work unabated elsewhere. and we should understand the conflict in Ukraine in that light, the light of countless other conflicts being created or enflamed by Uncle, right now.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Mar 16 2022 21:24 utc | 125

Posted by: ptb | Mar 16 2022 20:25 utc | 101
“The US is gonna milk this conflict for all it’s worth “. No they will not. There is no time. Things are happening with enormous speed on the global scene. US will be busy extinguishing domestics issues soon. Shoigu just sent shivers down their spines and there is the utter chaos happening right now on Capitol Hill and Foggy Bottom.

Posted by: Milos | Mar 16 2022 21:24 utc | 127

I think we can all agree that we have one Sick Man on Potomac!

Posted by: Milos | Mar 16 2022 21:27 utc | 129

At this point, it’s kind of futile trying to explain what’s going on to those who haven’t been following historical events outside of official western sources. At this point, the outcome will be what it will be, explanation or not.
It’s kind of like arriving to a movie with 5 minutes remaining and trying to figure out what is going on. Except, much more complicated, because it’s like experiencing a multiplex of movies at the last 5 minutes.
I think the die has been cast at this point. Hopefully, lies and crimes will finally be brought to light.

Posted by: Geoff | Mar 16 2022 21:30 utc | 131

La pubblicazione ha distorto tutta la logica del ragionamento,

Posted by: Alessandro Cagliostr | Mar 16 2022 21:33 utc | 133

There’s something very wrong with the site’s software likely related to the attempt to filter content and URLs. Sorry for the additional headache, b.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 21:41 utc | 135

Tom Hererra @124–
I suggest you read the three segments of Putin’s speech I posted at today’s other thread for it reviews the past, examines the present and provides Russia’s future plans besides it being Putin’s call to arms for all Russia. It’s a historic speech, something Biden is completely incapable of or anyone else in Washington DC.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 21:46 utc | 137

Posted by: laguerre | Mar 16 2022 21:29 utc | 128
You’re still missing the point. It does not matter what he accepts or doesn’t accept. HE IS NOT IN CONTROL OF THE COUNTRY. He is “President” in name only. Period. End of story.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 16 2022 21:55 utc | 139

@Arioch | Mar 16 2022 21:16 utc | 121

https://t.me/RVvoenkor/3961 – a bit more of Belorussia

Looks like those are exercises in Belorussia
UPDATE: military training and exercises are taking place in the regions.
https://t.me/intelslava/22544

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 21:56 utc | 141

Posted by: Norwegian | Mar 16 2022 21:56 utc | 139
Well, drill can make sense, but…
…why at night?
…why no one of locals was warned one way or another, did they wanted mass panic?
…Belarus is much smaller than Russia but has its share of swampy forrests (Hitler did not appreciate them, so why Belorussia had the largest casualties rate of all WW2 countries), so even is sudden night drills were needed – why near cities?

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 22:04 utc | 143

I submit that the terrorist act in Mariupol could very well become Russia’s Pearl Harbor Moment, an act of Infamy that must be avenged, not just the person who pushed the button, but those that enabled this event from its beginning, and that means Biden and most of his crew.
As for the EU pukes that are allied with this crap, they need to be punished too–they supported terrorists in Serbia/Kosovo, Chechnya, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Kazakstan, and Belarus.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 22:09 utc | 145

RE: first days of Mariupol storm, Azov destroys Donetsk’s T-64 tank
Forgot to write, sorry, not very coherent right now.
The surreal thing is background voice, some mother persuading her baby to “close your eyes”, “get calm”, “it is night, you have to go to sleep”…
Here the same video but without sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNm-AklHKFw
Not sure if the audio was removed in the latter or inserted in the former.

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 22:14 utc | 147

Postado por: JB | 16 de março de 2022 20:02 utc | 95
Of course, of course, they will even punish nato for the bombings using drones in Somalia. Oops, just not. It really seems that the establishment is showing the strength of war propaganda because more and more people are coming here discussing obvious things or believing in Disney fairy tales.

Posted by: Oisin | Mar 16 2022 22:17 utc | 149

@ 31
re: Ukraine should never have its own armed forces, neither the army nor the navy, as well as enterprises of the defense complex — only the police and the National Guard.
Reminds me of Costa Rica.
. . . from a news article four years ago:
Why getting rid of Costa Rica’s army 70 years ago has been such a success

Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are plagued by chronic poverty and violence that have sent a flood of refugees fleeing to the United States. Panama has gained the unwanted title as a world capital for money laundering and corruption. And all of them, plus Nicaragua, face recurrent political upheaval.
Yet amid this chaos, one Central American neighbor remains an island of political stability, economic prosperity and contentment: Costa Rica.
The country’s secret is something that virtually no other country in the world can claim — no standing army. It has used the savings from defense spending to improve education, health care and a durable social safety net. . .here

So Ukraine could do it but won’t because US/UK say so.
Also just imagine the US without an army, which isn’t really required because Canada and Mexico are quite benign in that department. So the $250 billion per year for the huge standing army is made necessary against Russia which then must be retained as an enemy. What if those billions were used to improve education, health care and a durable social safety net?

Posted by: Don Bacon | Mar 16 2022 22:21 utc | 151

Germany sent to Ukraine (already seized from captured gunmen) greanade launchers made in 1986-1988
Practical germans found a cheap way to dispose of weaponry so old it can not more be reliably used.
and UK sends MANPADS
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/uk-supplying-starstreak-anti-aircraft-missiles-ukraine-defence-minister-wallace-2022-03-16/
if those are later versions, then they would fly up to 5 km, and that is really bad.
our bombers fly higher, but precision-targeted CAS might be a goner.
Some photos, people managed to break out of Mariupol few days ago.
https://t.me/dvesti22/3292

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 22:34 utc | 153

The Western media is screaming about Russia bombing the Mariupol Drama Theater with 1200 women and children inside. No proof has however been provided that anyone was inside the building at the time of the explosion. No photos or video of victims or rescue work are shown, just one daytime photo of the bombed-out building.
The explanation offered by a “Mariupol City Council” is that 1) the explosion destroyed and blocked the only entrance to the underground shelter were the women and children were hiding and 2) rescue work is impossible because of the shelling in the area.
My fear is that if the civilians really were in the theater, we will soon learn that Putin killed them all with chlorine gas.
I have started collecting sources here:

Mariupol theater bombing

Posted by: Petri Krohn | Mar 16 2022 22:35 utc | 155

Posted by: Circe | Mar 16 2022 22:04 utc | 142
“How about if China decided to draw up a U.N. Resolution with Israel and India recognizing Crimea as Russian Territory, the Donbass as Independent and Ukraine as having the same status as Switzerland? Then all three could go about selling it to their respective allies at the UNGA. These three working together might make something happen.”
Doubtful. The US could probably cobble enough of its sycophants to prevent the Resolution from passing in the General Assembly. In the UNSC, it would simply be vetoed. Also, they couldn’t establish Ukraine’s neutrality by themselves. They would need Ukraine to agree – which they won’t, no matter how many times people quote Zelensky “accepting neutrality” which he clearly has explicitly not done so – and can’t, for reasons I’ve specified.
Look, no one is going to “save Ukraine” from being made into a compliant partner to Russia, like Belarus. It’s not going to happen. This is Russia’s goal and it will be achieved, no matter what Russia has to do to achieve it.

Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Mar 16 2022 22:38 utc | 157

librul @150–
Yes, most certainly! IMO, the Mariupol terrorist act dooms any chance for a negotiated solution with Zelensky and all Ukraine will now be cleansed with pursuit possible into neighboring nations.
During the Great Patriotic War, all essential industries were moved to the Urals and beyond. Russia doesn’t have any massive mountain ranges to bury things inside like NORAD inside Cheyanne Mountain in Colorado, so I wonder if Russia will try to protest its essentials this time within buried, hardened structures capable of surviving nuclear assault. If so, it doesn’t have a whole lot of time. I’m going to assume Russia has now or will soon have enough S-400/500/550/600 launchers and missiles to defeat the vast majority of NATO nukes. I do hope we don’t discover that the hard way. North America is toast in any nuclear exchange, the nuclear code box being utterly worthless.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 22:43 utc | 159

My house in Iowa is sold and last night I arrived in North Carolina to stay with friends. This is the first time in months I’ve watched TV, and it is insane. National and even local news networks are completely saturated with 24/7 propaganda about Ukraine. And it’s not just propaganda, it’s ludicrous propaganda completely divorced from reality.
This is deliberate, insidious disinformation on an almost unprecedented scale. Most Americans know very little about Ukraine or Russia, and their lack of knowledge is deliberately exploited by the Biden regime and his cronies in the corporate media.
Moral considerations aside, propaganda and being divorced from reality comes with serious peril. The NATO empire and her nazi surrogates are not advantageously positioned for a regional war in Eastern Europe. There are no aircraft carriers in the Black Sea, and the majority of NATO airpower close enough to do anything are obsolete and undermaintained F-15s and Soviet Migs. Regarding ground support aircraft like the A-10, anyone who thinks that’s a good idea is an idiot. A 40-year-old slow-moving airframe is fine for blowing up villages in Iraq, but it’s not a tool that can realistically survive confrontations with someone with adequate anti-air defenses, like Russia.
Even F-22s and Eurofighters have grossly exaggerated performance and survivability. The F-22 in particular has performed poorly in confrontations with Russian fighters. As for the pilots themselves, even our own experts have been warning for years that USAF training standards have been on the decline for years and our aircrews aren’t prepared for a 1:1 equal fight with a technologically sophisticated opponent who can actually shoot back.
Trying to ship weapons to nazi terrorist groups in Ukraine is bad enough, but any kind of military intervention against Russian forces in the country would be a direct invitation for our own airfields and military installations to be bombed.
see full story here. https://readingjunkie.com/2022/03/16/no-fly-zone-is-a-euphemism-for-war/

Posted by: Ian Kummer | Mar 16 2022 22:51 utc | 161

“Sport is above politics!” they preached….
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2022/03/15/daniil-medvedev-told-will-banned-wimbledon-unless-denounces/
Daniil Medvedev and other Russian and Belarusian tennis players face being banned from Wimbledon unless they publicly denounce the Ukraine invasion, the Government has confirmed….

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 23:02 utc | 163

After the debacle of Afghanistan, the US and NATO are panicking about another debacle in Ukraine. These two obvious failures will give a big blow to the USA’s supposed power.
That is why the USA is ready to use Ukrainians to fight to death to save the USA “reputation”. Unless a very decisive event happens in the world that would distract the public attention from Ukraine’s imminent defeat, the USA will continue to arm Zelinski and his army as long as possible until the public opinions loses interest.
If this takes time, Ukraine as a country may gradually disappear thanks to West’s blind greed and obsession with power.

Posted by: virgile | Mar 16 2022 23:16 utc | 165

Is this true? Have been trying to verify. Assistance requested.

On July 21, 2021, President Zelensky promulgated a law on “indigenous peoples”. It recognizes the enjoyment of human and civil rights and fundamental freedoms only for Ukrainians of Scandinavian or Germanic origin, but not for those of Slavic origin. This is the first racial law passed in Europe in 77 years.

Posted by: librul | Mar 16 2022 23:24 utc | 167

librul | Mar 16 2022 23:24 utc | 165
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3285475-law-on-indigenous-peoples-comes-into-force-in-ukraine.html

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 16 2022 23:30 utc | 169

Posted by: librul | Mar 16 2022 23:24 utc | 165
> Scandinavian or Germanic origin
This perhaps not, other origins actually.
about: https://ria.ru/20210721/narody-1742292730.html
law (ukr): http://search.ligazakon.ua/l_doc2.nsf/link1/JI05153A.html
relevant chapter: 1.2
…it said that is a draft. One probably has to search on rada.gov.ua but… i don’t come nowhere close that pile of shit, not today at least
translation (seems robotic) to russian: https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=36748189

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 23:34 utc | 171

librul | Mar 16 2022 23:24 utc | 165
draft, in ukrainian: http://search.ligazakon.ua/l_doc2.nsf/link1/JI05153A.html
relevant chapter is 1.2
rada.gov.ua probably has more info about enacting it or maybe editing before enacting
but the way i feel now i won’t touch it wit ha flagpole

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 23:37 utc | 173

@ Sushi 156
Sputniknews headlines “US sees No Difference between humanitarian and Military No Fly Zone.”
And prez Ze said that if a no-fly zone is too much to ask for, Ukraine could be given aircraft and S-300 air defense systems.
RT now banned from being broadcast in Canada.
[Note to b, Testing again after 4 tries. system indicates Comment posted but does no appear. So this is a test without any links. Early today system was fine.]

Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 16 2022 23:40 utc | 175

Over 1000 Ukie soldiers including foreign terrorists were hiding in a Mariupol theater when it was struck with pinpoint accuracy. Ukie soldiers held a few civilians as a human shield.
The comedian was crying and begging USA in total madness. Does he want his country destroyed beyond salvage or is it a big comedy for him?

Posted by: Jason | Mar 16 2022 23:42 utc | 177

No, Zelensky is not in control of Ukraine. That doesn’t mean that his backers can still control him – especially if he has taken to drugs. And he does have agency – he is not an inanimate puppet after all, he is a human being. Not a very nice one. And certainly not the smartest one, either. Probably a very desperate one by now, still looking for the happy-end.

Posted by: Martina | Mar 16 2022 23:45 utc | 179

https://voltairenet.org/article216108.html
Posted by: Australian lady | Mar 16 2022 23:32 utc | 168
not available: cloudflare SSL error…
tried to enqueue it at https://web.archive.org/save/ – but seems does not work for them either

Posted by: Arioch | Mar 16 2022 23:48 utc | 181

German electric utility reveals Nord Stream 2 plans
..E.ON will not pull out of Russian gasoline project. This an asset that cannot be sold.
E.ON opposed Poland’s calls to shut down Nord Stream 1 pipeline.. Leonhard Birnbaum, the head of the German Utility also said it would be extremely difficult for Europe to significantly reduce dependence on energy supplies from Russia, at least in the next three years.
@ Richard S. Hack 97, 100
Desperation is setting in.
We are heading for that moment. It will not be like a walk around the park.

Posted by: Likklemore | Mar 16 2022 23:55 utc | 183

Vladimir Putin could unleash biological weapon from seized Ukraine lab, experts fear..
So said… Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, former chief of the British Army’s chemical weapons unit
Ukraine war: Fact-checking Russia’s biological weapons claims…
“It says material is being destroyed to conceal the country’s weapons programme, but the US says this is “total nonsense” and that Russia is inventing false narratives to justify its actions in Ukraine.”
Russia has claimed without any evidence that biological weapons are being developed in laboratories in Ukraine
So Russia could unleash biological weapons which are not biological weapons….

Posted by: ted001 | Mar 16 2022 23:58 utc | 185

I still occasionally tune in to the, seemingly, 24/7 streams of Anatoly Shariy. He’s been a good source of information on events in Ukraine before the military operation started, but since then he’s taken on the role of dispatcher — trying to get involved in shaping events on the ground with the focus on helping people without the usual political commentary and big image analysis.
It’s a commendable effort, but exhausting to watch; 90% is children and elderly needing medicine ad nauseam, 8% is him responding to criticism in chat for his neutral position (referred to as pro-Russian / pro-Nazi intermittently) and 2% recordings from the front with things blowing up and people cursing in Russian. I followed along with some interest for the first few days and then I mostly tuned out and started watching more condensed news reports from other sources, because the constant barrage of real and fake human suffering and pleas for help (the fakes are essentially treated as good news in this environment, as one less problem to worry about) no longer served to illustrate the situation in any meaningful way.
However, a recurring theme has emerged over the last week, of Shariy reporting on, and being handed information about, unlawful abduction of civilians by the SBU on a large scale. Supposedly, he’s been informed by people he knows inside the country that their homes were forcibly broken into and their friends or family severely beaten and taken away. I don’t think these are fictional reports. As part of his work as impromptu dispatcher, people are writing or calling in to say that the same thing is happening to their loved ones, all over the country where Kiev is still in control. The reliability of this information is a coin-flip — I have no reason to distrust it, but the sources are essentially unverifiable for the viewer, although Shariy does ask and receives names and addresses as part of a verification process and in order to be able to render any assistance. I don’t think these are fictional reports either.
In fact, SBU acknowledges that they’re involved in rounding up what it calls “collaborators.”

Over the past day, the SBU in different regions of Ukraine detained dozens of accomplices of the invaders and infiltrators.
“The SBU detained 60 collaborators and exposed 20 enemy sabotage-reconnaissance groups in different regions,” the SBU said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.

What worries me, is that I have come across posts that claim SBU in coordination with Pravy Sektor is performing some sort of cleansing operation, and various public buildings are mentioned as storage sites for dead bodies in black garbage bags, with some sites housing hundreds of bodies. This information is at the level of rumor, but it seems to me, unfortunately, to be very plausible.
Considering that Ukraine, at the government level, finances a database of enemies of the state, which the public is encouraged to contribute to in the vein of Wikipedia, called Myrotvorets, it’s not exactly far fetched that a breakdown of governmental structures will see this database finally being put to use. Not to put too fine a point on the obvious, but this database is about as reliable and secure from tampering, even for a laugh, as Wikipedia is. At the time of writing, the front-page of this site contains a wall of faces belonging to Ukrainian citizens supposedly identified as agents of FSB.

Що з ними робити — вирішувати вам.
What to do with them — decide for yourself.

Rather chilling. Will executed civilians uncovered by advancing Russian forces be pinned on Russia in the Western press? Is nobody concerned about Ukrainian death-lists available in the public domain, no concern about their implementation in the event of anarchy?

Posted by: Skiffer | Mar 17 2022 0:02 utc | 187

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Mar 16 2022 16:02 utc | 26
“Zelensky is either stalling for time or Washington is calling the shots.”
Does not look like they are planning on ending this any time soon…
Biden signs government funding bill that includes $13.6 billion in Ukraine aid
still plenty of money to be made out of this… expect additional S billions of emergency funding on top of this.

Posted by: ted001 | Mar 17 2022 0:09 utc | 189

I’ve reviewed Putin’s speech to find where he declares the war an existential threat to Russia. He doesn’t employ those exact words, but the words he does use convey the essence of the phrase above. What follows is within a longer passage detailing the aspects of war being waged on Russia that provides supporting context for this passage:
“I repeat: we are talking only about the reasons. But the policy of containment, weakening of Russia, including through economic isolation, blockade, is a conscious, long-term strategy. The leaders of the West themselves no longer hide the fact that the sanctions are not directed against individuals or companies, their goal is to strike at our entire domestic economy, at our social and humanitarian sphere, at every family, every citizen of Russia.
“In fact, such steps aimed at worsening the lives of millions of people have all the signs of aggression and war by economic, political and information means. It is total, undisguised, and, I repeat, the so-called Western political beau monde does not even hesitate to talk about it in direct text.”
“It is total.” Yes it is. And the 24/7/365 demonization narrative is aimed at dehumanizing Russia, Russians and all things Russian just as the Nazis did in the late 1930s. Its Plan Ost in action once again. And I’ll make this observation: Such intense demonization isn’t meant to stop; it will continue and worsen if that’s possible.
The Saker asked a sensible question at the end of today’s first Sitrep: Is there any way to avoid a nuclear war between Russia and the Outlaw US Empire? Over Ukraine, my answer is yes. Over the core of Russia’s Security Proposals, meaning rolling back NATO to its 1997 status? Quite possible. Before the Empire of Lies thinks it has nuclear parity because it has a few hypersonics? No. After? Very possible. What if Russia demonstrates its S-500, 550 & 600’s ability to shoot down hypersonics? No. What if Russia demonstrates one of its newest weapons based on new physical principles? No. In other words, I only see that possibility occurring IF the Outlaw’s military is assured there’s some hope in survival because deep down they love their children too.

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 17 2022 0:18 utc | 191

Tom Herrera | Mar 17 2022 0:08 utc | 183
The long term outcome of all of this Ukraine clean up is that Russia has turned its back on the West. From now on it wants the physical protection of a tamed Ukraine but it will noy engage with Western finance and cultural mores. Russia has plenty of countries it can work with outside of the West. On the other hand the West has much that it needs from Russia and its allies which will henceforth be denied to it.
Longer term Russia and China will head up a whole new financial system which will not be the exploitative one run by Western countries. I expect that the smaller nations in Europe will eventually be keen to be part of this system and imagine that they will be welcome.
There will be a long tail to this. Will be fascinating to watch. One thing I am certain of is the hysteria evident in Western media is incapable of being maintained for very long. It takes too much energy and much like the carry on over covid people get sick of it very quickly.

Posted by: Cyberhorse | Mar 17 2022 0:28 utc | 193

Posted by: Roger | Mar 16 2022 17:15 utc | 59
Thanks for saying that. I couldn’t agree with you more.

Posted by: farm ecologist | Mar 17 2022 0:39 utc | 195

Tom Herrera | Mar 17 2022 0:08 utc | 183
Part of it is understanding US modus operandi since the collapse of the soviet union. Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Iraq, Libya, Syria ect. Also the Islamic extremists hat go by various names depending on what they are being used for. That starts with US laying a trap for the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
As for why Russia has gone for a larger invasion than just defending donbass, that can be found in his speeches since 22nd of February.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Mar 17 2022 0:55 utc | 197

Posted by: karlof1 | Mar 16 2022 22:43 utc | 157
Yamantau underground complex.

Posted by: Greg Galloway | Mar 17 2022 1:01 utc | 199