Ukraine Bits: Russian Artillery - Counter Attacks - New Missile Systems
The amount of copium available for Ukraine fans seems to be dwindling.
More mainstream media now report on the huge damage the Russian artillery is causing to the Ukrainian frontline troops. Even the New York Times joined in:
Under the fire of Russia’s long-range arsenal and facing a desperate need for ammunition and weapons, Ukrainian forces remain outgunned on the long and pockmarked eastern front, according to military analysts, Ukrainian officials and soldiers on the ground.Just one engagement on Thursday and Friday on a small swath of the line, in a forest north of the town of Sloviansk, sent about a dozen Ukrainian soldiers to a military hospital with harrowing shrapnel wounds.
“You ask how the fighting is going,” said Oleksandr Kolesnikov, the commander of a company of soldiers fighting in the forest, interviewed on an ambulance gurney outside a military hospital in Kramatorsk. “There was a commander of the company. He was killed. There was another commander. He was killed. A third commander was wounded. I am the fourth.”
Another example from the Washington Post:
“Seventy people from my battalion were injured in the last week,” said a soldier and ambulance driver just outside the hospital gates who identified himself only as Vlad, 29. “I lost too many friends; it’s hard for me. I don’t know how many. … It’s getting worse every day.”The night before, he said, the shelling was so loud he hardly got any sleep. “It’s all artillery bombing down,” he said. “All the wounded are coming from shrapnel. Most guys in the trenches haven’t even seen the enemy face-to-face.”
Since beginning of the war I have pointed to the huge amount of artillery Russian forces are traditionally using.
'Western' doctrine, which is essentially U.S. doctrine, is betting on air supremacy. The enemy's air defenses get destroyed in first few days of the war. After that enemy formations get wiped out by applying a huge amount of aerial bombing against them.
Russian doctrine never has believed in air supremacy. Russia itself has excellent air defenses so it knows what it is talking about. To destroy enemy formations Russia applies artillery, lots of it.
A standard U.S. brigade combat team (BCT) has two or three battalions with tanks or infantry as front formations and one battalion of artillery to support them. The rest of the brigade troops are various support units.

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Instead of a 3 to 1 ratio of front formations to artillery formation Russian units have a 1 to 1 ration. Russian Motor Rifles brigades also have two or three battalions as front formations but they also have three artillery battalions with various guns and missiles to support those.

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This 1 to 1 ration is repeated on nearly every level - battalion, brigade, division, army - of Russian ground forces. Here is how it looks when it gets applied.
Unless the defending forces are fully under armor or extremely well dug in, as they had been for eight years at the Donetsk frontline, they have no hope to hold out against Russian artillery. Since the Russian army broke through the immediate frontline the Ukrainians have lost the protection of fortified dugouts and are on the run.
None of the above is new and it was the reason why I and other could easily predicted that the Ukrainian army would lose the war.
After for months hyping Ukrainian victories that had never happened 'western' headlines now finally acknowledge the real state of the war:
- Ukraine Is in Worse Shape than You Think - Time
- Ukraine suffers on battlefield while pleading for U.S. arms - Washington Post
- Russian Wins in Eastern Ukraine Spark Debate Over Course of War - Bloomberg
- Russia’s ‘cauldron’ tactic may be tipping Donbas battle in its favour - Guardian
- Shrapnel in the forests and shells from the sky: ‘I’ve never seen such hell.’ - New York Times
- Boris Johnson warns Russia is 'chewing through ground' in eastern Ukraine as he urges more support for Kyiv forces - Daily Mail
Ukrainian media are still not allowed to report on the real state of the war.
Ukrinform headlines:
Ukrainian army launches offensive in Kherson region
Ukrainian forces have launched an offensive in the Kherson region, with Russian invaders suffering losses and defending on unfavorable positions.The press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
"As a result of offensive actions by units of the Defense Forces, the enemy suffered losses and started defending on unfavorable positions near Andriivka, Lozove and Bilohirka, Kherson region. Fighting continues.
While that item carries today's date the action described in it actually happened Saturday and Sunday on the south western front line.

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A several hundred men strong group of Ukrainian troops with armored vehicles crossed a bridge in Davydiv Brid over a river that delimits the Russian held territory in the south west from the Ukrainian held one. The group was tasked with pushing some 60 kilometers south to reach and sabotage the Dnepr dam west of Kherson.

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After progressing some 10 kilometers south a column of some 20 vehicles got clobbered by Russian artillery. The rest dispersed into the country side and is currently getting hunted down.
The whole operation had failed within a few hours. For the pre-planned mission it was way too small and attacked on a too narrow front. The Russian command decided that the planners of the brazen but useless Ukrainian operation deserved additional punishment:
Missile troops and artillery have hit 62 command posts, including those of Operational Command South near Novy Bug, Nikolaev Region, as well as 593 areas of AFU manpower and military equipment concentration and 55 artillery and mortar batteries at firing positions.
Novy Bug can be seen at the upper left of the second map. Ukraine confirmed that it has been attacked.
In total the Russian side claims that 200 Ukrainian troops died in the failed attempt while an additional 35 were killed in the strike on the South Command of the Ukrainian army.
The write ups about supreme Russian artillery quoted above are of course in support of the U.S. intent to send multiple rocket launcher (HIMARS) to Ukraine. These can, in theory, fire on targets from up to 300 kilometer away. However, Ukraine would only get ammunition for significantly shorter ranges of about 30 km:
Some White House officials had expressed concern that providing MLRS weaponry with a range of more than 180 miles would allow Ukrainian forces to hit targets far into Russian territory, potentially prompting an escalatory response from Moscow, but the White House is now comfortable managing that risk by withholding the longest-range ammunition for the system, a senior U.S. official told The Post.
With 300 kilogram each missile has significant weight. A truck with HIMARS can carry 6 of those while a tracked vehicle version carries 12. Resupplying these in significant numbers will be a logistic nightmare.
The White House has yet to say how many HIMARS it will send to Ukraine.
The Russian equivalents to HIMARS are the BM-27 Uragan and BM-30 Smerch systems. At the beginning of the war Ukraine had some 70 Uragan and some 80 Smerch systems. Most of those are by now gone.
It is highly unlikely that the U.S. will send as many as the 100 plus missile launchers the Russians have already destroyed.
There is also the small fact that Russian air defenses can intercept such missiles in flight:
In addition, 9 Ukrainian Smerch multiple-launch rockets have been intercepted near Malaya Kamyshevakha, Kamenka, Brazhkovka, Glinskoe in Kharkov Region and Chernobaevka in Kherson Region.
In recent weeks the Ukraine also received a number of Su-25 fighter planes from some former Warsaw Pact state. Of the eight allegedly received recently at least five were reportedly destroyed by Russia within days of them reaching Ukraine.
All this additional arming of Ukrainian troops will have no significant effect on the battle field. It is unnecessarily prolonging the war.
Former Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army Daniel Davis has written some realistic pieces on Ukraine. His latest though are a bit of fantasy. He describes in three parts "How Ukraine Can Drive Russia Out".
First Ukraine would have to hold onto Donbas and with the help of raids and counterattacks unbalance the Russian forces. It would then perform a delaying retreat under fire to several new defense lines created in its rear. This delay action should allow for time to build a new force of 100,000 new troops in west Ukraine who would be equipped with a huge amount of new 'western' systems. It would take twelve to eighteen months to build and train that counterattack force.
Davis knows of course that each of those steps is completely unrealistic. His real advice is to negotiate an end to the war as soon as possible. But the writeup of what would really be necessary for the Ukraine to have at least a chance to win against Russia is helpful as it demonstrates the futility of such an effort.
There is no way for the Ukraine to turn the situation around or to win the war. The Ukrainian government has to give up. To stop the dying and the extensive amount of damage the war causes it must end now. To prolong it by supplying more money and weapons is criminal and should be punished.
Posted by b on May 30, 2022 at 13:27 UTC | Permalink
next page »The often cited phrase "The Americans will fight Russia until the last Ukrainian" comes to mind.
The tragedy is that this whole conflict was easily avoidable but for the incompetence and/or maliciousness of the US foreign policy establishment.
Posted by: Joe85 | May 30 2022 13:46 utc | 2
This conflict is also being prolonged by the incompetence and maliciousness of the EU foreign policy establishment and individual EU countries. TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) in the EU has been replaced by PDS (Putin Derangement Syndrome).
Posted by: JamesMcCumiskey | May 30 2022 13:55 utc | 3
“... allow for time to build a new force of 100,000 ....”
Since the US and EU are footing the bill and have asked for them to fund the payroll, the Ukies can easily find another million or so, just like the Afghans found a few hundred thousand for their phantom brigrades. Ghosts of Kyiv indeed.
Posted by: Cato the Uncensored | May 30 2022 13:58 utc | 4
""The Americans will fight Russia until the last Ukrainian"
In fact, since Day One, NATO has been designating a collection of mercenary odds and sods, jihadists, skinheads, football hooligans, neo-nazis, criminals and utter nutcases "Ukrainians."
The real Ukrainians appear to have little and rapidly declining interest in the war, the young, in particular, having left the scene for better jobs elsewhere, leaving only those with ties, family men with jobs and homes, to be scooped up by the pretend government and sent off to the front.
Posted by: bevin | May 30 2022 14:00 utc | 5
@ JamesMcCumiskey | May 30 2022 13:55 utc | 3
What we see among the 'leaders' of western countries is Neo-feudalist Servility Syndrome.
Posted by: Figleaf23 | May 30 2022 14:07 utc | 6
In some occasions the opposite of what is said, especially by politicians such as Biden is the hidden truth
"US President Joe Biden said that Washington will not supply Kiev with missile systems capable of striking at the territory of Russia, the agency reported. Reuters.
This statement of the head of state was made against the background of publications about the upcoming shipment to Ukraine american multiple launch rocket systems.
https://ria.ru/20220530/rakety-1791802302.html
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 14:08 utc | 7
@Joe85 | May 30 2022 13:46 utc | 2 "maliciousness of the US foreign policy establishment.
Nailed it.
Somewhere I read that a common Russian attitude regarding the SMO is that they cannot forgive the West for making them fight their brothers in Ukraine.
Posted by: the pessimist | May 30 2022 14:08 utc | 8
Just one engagement on Thursday and Friday on a small swath of the line, in a forest north of the town of Sloviansk, sent about a dozen Ukrainian soldiers to a military hospital with harrowing shrapnel wounds.
I sense an aversion to the word killed by the NYT. Guess when they were there the soldiers were only being "injured", as killed is a rare event on the Ukro side. Reading that sentence I am reassured that they made it to the hospital. Hence, the Zelensky Ambulance Service must be very good at the Eastern Front.
The Editors must be looking over these stories ten times over to make sure it is as positive as possible.
Posted by: Tom_12 | May 30 2022 14:11 utc | 9
A fair few threads back someone posted a comment on a comment by a Ukrainian soldier that the relentless shelling (day and night) by the RF had worn them down.
Poland has or is supplying Ukrainian forces with (18) Krab missile launchers that can reach 40 kilometers.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 14:18 utc | 10
At war you are either hunter or rabbit. Never both at the same time. Even if they give the rabbit a gun.
Posted by: Leuk | May 30 2022 14:20 utc | 11
Although I did not read Davis’ write-up the synopsis reads like…well you guessed it: a HollyWood moooovie!
I can see it now, the dashing very special forces perform a series of previously though impossible raids which catch the evil Rookies off guard. In a panic they fall into disarray allowing the Azov commandos to sabotage all their artillery.
Meanwhile in the west, the wunderwaffen are being set up for action! They million man International Legion complete with United Colors of Benneton battalions launches into battle and the Rooskies are simply too awestruck by the sheer ingenuity of the weapons and tactics to do anything about it…..
Oh wait, all that really happens is the slow and steady RF artillery, grinding the poor draftees to dust.
Posted by: Chevrus | May 30 2022 14:20 utc | 12
The Euro group is now engaged in destroying the union. They continue to demand that the countries do as they are told and the countries continue to ignore them. They know the pipelines are mandatory, so they say they will interdict the ships at sea.
Which navy? The one that is going to sail into Odessa, before and after Russia takes it back?
The Eurozone is coming to an inglorious end. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of folks. Perhaps they will learn to live together, but they haven't for 1000 years now, so don't count on it.
Posted by: Tard | May 30 2022 14:22 utc | 13
Wash Post - the mouthpiece of the CIA-State Dept. One of the mercenaries said the Russian "Alligator" helicopters and jets were even worse that the RF artilerry. Intel Slava Z and other web sites had close to 9 videos of different Ukrainain units who did not want to keep fighting their suicide mission.
Behind them as usual are Azov nazis and other nazis who shoot any Ukrainian conscripts who try to retreat. I just hope more Ukie units lay down their arms. Do not die for criminals and pedos like Zelensky-Kolomoisky-Pinchuk-Nuland-Soros.
Posted by: Jerry22 | May 30 2022 14:27 utc | 14
The US and NATO are criminally negligent if we consider Ukraine their ally. They trained and equipped Ukraine to fight light infantry battles. Did they not take into account Russia’s long-held fondness for artillery and small rockets used as artillery?
Alternately, the US planned to put Russia on the back foot with a quick strike at Donbas population centers to minimize artillery application. Or, the US planned for Russia to race for Kiev and leave dug in troops because of the time/effort needed to root them out. Those troops then become the foundation of a large scale insurgency, which they are well equipped to prosecute. The fortified positions keep a lot value in this scenario.
Blob members said Afghanistan a lot, but Iraq would be a better comparison. Now US planners are fairly helpless because Russia didn’t do what they expected. Those planners got the Ukrainian army with rifles and a few anti-tank weapons into an artillery war with Russia. A retreat now probably becomes a rout. There is no way a Ukrainian army built for armor battles and artillery can be reconstituted and armed in 12 months without sending almost everything NATO has. All because US planners could only imagine what they would do if they were Russian planners and never gave any serious consideration to what Russia would actually do (or might do). Now they’re left with killing Ukrainians en masse for bo other reason than an unwillingness to admit they were incompetently wrong.
Posted by: Lex | May 30 2022 14:28 utc | 15
Oh wait, all that really happens is the slow and steady RF artillery, grinding the poor draftees to dust.
Posted by: Chevrus | May 30 2022 14:20 utc | 12
Yes, thank you. Could have said that myself. This is what comes of letting those cretins act out in Iraq & Afghanistan for 20 years.
Posted by: Bemildred | May 30 2022 14:30 utc | 16
There is no way for the Ukraine to turn the situation around or to win the war. The Ukrainian government has to give up
. . .Truth is the first casualty of war. . .
Ukraine is winning by using "NATO standards", according to the Kyiv Post.
Ukraine Army Commander Valery Zaluzhny: Time to Erase “Soviet Thinking”
On July 27, 2021, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Valery Zaluzhny commander-in-chief. Immediately following his appointment, Zaluzhny stated that his priority was the transition of the armed forces from Soviet to NATO standards.
Zaluzhny is a key facilitator of the Ukrainian army’s modernization and to get rid of “Soviet thinking” altogether.
He has summarized his approach as follows in his advice to the armed forces which he gave in July 202: “The overall course of reforming Ukraine’s Armed Forces in line with NATO principles and standards remains irreversible. And the key here is the principles – Changes must take place primarily in the worldview and attitude towards people. I would like you to turn your face to the people, to your subordinates. My attitude towards people has not changed throughout my service.” . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | May 30 2022 14:34 utc | 17
I really don't have a lot of sympathy for the Uki people. They voted for this Jew.
Posted by: Rangewolf | May 30 2022 14:38 utc | 18
A war and an Empire built on lies upon lies CANNOT stop telling lies because the entire Empire and war will collapse and political/financial chaos will be released!
This is a US terminal gamble to maintain control and losing is not an option.
It is not possible to stop and negotiate (lose) after so much $ and lies. A loss for the US would be "the end"!
This will not end well!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: James Cook | May 30 2022 14:38 utc | 19
After weeks of listening to the West mock Russian logistics at the start of the war, the West has shown a greater ineptitude concerning logistics. It's amazed me at how bad they are at planning resupplies and failing to take into account Ukraine has no money and no reserve supplies to repair and maintain NATO weaponry. The failure of sending weaponry (javelins) into battle with dead or dying battery packs due to America's pre-war logistical failure to properly maintain those weapon systems.
People tried to warn the Ukrainian citizens before the war to push their government to stay neutral because that was their best option for peace and security, but they are too prideful. It amazes me as well that Ukrainian defenses as well as offensive capabilities are being overestimated by the West just like the Afghanistan military was overestimated. The leadership of the West is run by incompetent people both politicians and military officers, and I won't get into the depth if my disgust of the West's explicit intentions of using Ukraine to the last man to hurt Russia for the West's own advantage. Didn't one great liberal ethicist (Kant) say that it is unethical to treat people merely as a means?
Posted by: Prometheus | May 30 2022 14:38 utc | 20
Apart from the fact that the conflict is draining the EU's purse, I think the Western oligarchs are comfortable with the suffering of the Ukrainians. By the time this thing ends, if Ukraine has not ceased to exist as a geographical reality, then it is lucky.
Posted by: Steve | May 30 2022 14:40 utc | 21
Never bring a javelin to a gun fight:
A Fistful of Dollars - Final Duel
Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 30 2022 14:42 utc | 22
Ukrainians should just give up and prevent any more unnecessary civilian casualties, say the experts.
"You should stop hitting yourself!" said my cousin, sitting on my chest and holding my wrists...
Posted by: Noam A. Larkey | May 30 2022 14:42 utc | 23
Excellent analysis, b, a must-read for Scott Ritter.
Posted by: Doug Hillman | May 30 2022 14:44 utc | 24
I really don't have a lot of sympathy for the Uki people. They voted for this Jew.Posted by: Rangewolf | May 30 2022 14:38 utc | 18
The incumbent, Poroshenko is also Jewish. Neither show any signs of being observant Jews, so that is a secondary trait. The primary common trait is their subservience to the diktats of others, like Ihor Kolomoisky and/or the US State Department.
Zelensky was elected on a promise to bring peace to Eastern Ukraine. Whether his public attempt to do so was genuine or more political theatre is open to debate. In either case the ultimate decision was above his pay grade.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | May 30 2022 14:48 utc | 25
Too Late for Kolomoiskyy-Biden-Zelenskyy+Nudelman-Khagan to Negotiate a Cease-Fire.
The De-Nazification, De-Militarization, and De-Kolomoiskyy/Zelenskyy-Nudelmanificaction may need to be conducted throughouly to Protect the UKRainian Citizen from Kolomoisky/Zelenskyy/Nudelman-Khagan's Tyrannical Mass Murder and Forced-Suicide-by-Conscription-Fodder Schemes; and the Bandera-Nazi will have to Surrender or Flee. Any Guerilla Type Strikes from across the POL Border will be Dealt With. The Russian-Speaking Regions will have chances to Vote with their Feet to Join the Secessionists by the End of this Calendar Year.
I would not be surprised to read about Kolomoiskyy, Zelenskyy, and Nudelman-Khagan being Caught and Tried in a LDPR Tribunal in the near future.
Posted by: IronForge | May 30 2022 14:50 utc | 26
They don't want it to happen but Russia is forced to reduce the borderlands to a refuge for widows and orphans. The real action now is on the economic front. There are industrial plants in western europe that will not function without ural oil. They are the harbingers of the next phase. Can brussels force the destruction of commerce for purely ideology. if so where do the capable hard working people go? Would they be welcomed in Russia? how about China? the USA needs them but seems to a sleep to know that. Oh what a world!
Posted by: countrumford | May 30 2022 14:52 utc | 27
"Unless the defending forces are fully under armor or extremely well dug in...they have no hope...against Russian artillery."
When thermobaric rounds are used even armor or deep dig in make no difference. Thermobaric comes in every size from TOS-2 to handheld grenade launchers Shmuel. Even with conventional HE rounds when the hail is thick enough trenches make little difference and armor may fail. Russian artillery is displaying accuracy not seen in any previous conflict, direct hits on armor are routinely recorded from spotting drones.
Posted by: oldhippie | May 30 2022 14:55 utc | 28
@ Lex | May 30 2022 14:28 utc | 15
Maybe because you've been there, you and b give full voice to appropriate fury, directed against the sadists in charge. The epic hypocrisy of it has to make your blood boil, once you get it: Not only Ukrainian commanders, the whole Western Wurlitzer has been whimsically fooling with lives of hapless Ukrainian troops as if they're worth more to us dead than alive, because they are. All while emoting such eloquent sympathies for our brave brothers standing up to the Rooskies! Here's a spectacle to outshine even USA's archetypally ignominious withdrawal from Afghanistan, setting an exceptional standard for international profiles in cowardice.
The academy award for solid gold cowardice, all the way from the Uvalde School District Police to the White House situation room, goes to the States formerly known as "United".
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 30 2022 15:00 utc | 29
It looks like Russia is going to win the battle for hearts and minds from the linked to artillery video. I say that in jest and while I don’t doubt Russia will win this war, I do feel the blogger is so close he can’t see how disturbing this war looks. This was a failure of diplomacy on all sides and from a zoomed out view Russia looks sociopathic (readily admitting the US has been before and would be here were it not for a lazy and propagandized audience). The world is a worse place for having had this happen. I personally gave Putin more credit for a longer range vision and plan then what he’s done here, which is to confirm he’s no different than every murderous president we have in the US and is exactly what everyone claimed he was.
And to say this has been a resounding demonstration of the Russian war machine is a joke when how pared back the current aims are. Not to mention how clear it is that other counties can’t be bombed into changing their ideology. The blowback will go on for a long time. Why was this lesson even needed.
Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | May 30 2022 15:06 utc | 30
This characterization of Zelensky by David Stockman is my favourite so far:
"the pretentious little peacock who parades as the country’s president"
https://original.antiwar.com/David_Stockman/2022/05/26/perpetual-debt-perpetual-war/
Posted by: Canadian Cents | May 30 2022 15:08 utc | 31
@ 18, 25
The point that Zelinsky was elected on certain people-oriented principles, and then did the opposite, is a common fault of western "democracies." Elected politicians like Biden claim that democracy surpasses autocracy, but (of course) they fail to recognize the simple fact that the people come last in a "democracy" as the electees are threatened and/or rewarded to act against citizens.
Posted by: Don Bacon | May 30 2022 15:11 utc | 32
Whoa Opport. How can you assert that Zelensky's Jewishness is "a secondary trait"? They are all taught that the only good is what is good for the Jews. And there he is, destroying a European country in a desperate attempt to keep Rothschild and that group in charge of the world's trade and currencies. Secondary trait, not.
Of course he lied during the campaign. It's what they do. They always do. The fault of the Ukranian people lies in being so godless that they could not see through the lies.
Now they are paying the price. Same here in America, BTW.
Posted by: Rangewolf | May 30 2022 15:12 utc | 33
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 14:08 utc | 7
Re the MLRS, apparently, the US is only supplying rockets with a 30km reach.
Intel Slava Z, [30/05/2022 15:42] 🇺🇸🇺🇦⚡️Biden said that the United States will not send missile systems to Ukraine that can reach Russian territory
Meanwhile, Russia has reacted to the idea thus:
Intel Slava Z, [30/05/2022 15:42] 🇺🇸🇺🇦⚡️Biden said that the United States will not send missile systems to Ukraine that can reach Russian territoryIntel Slava Z, [30/05/2022 15:50]
🇷🇺❗️Reasonable!" - Medvedev said, commenting on Biden's decision not to supply Ukraine with missile systems that reach Russian territory."Otherwise, when attacking our cities, the Russian Armed Forces would have fulfilled their threat and struck at the centers for making these criminal decisions. Some of them are not located in Ukraine at all. There is no need to explain what happens next ..."
Posted by: Barofsky | May 30 2022 15:15 utc | 34
@Tard | May 30 2022 14:22 utc | 13
The Euro group is now engaged in destroying the union.Finally some good news!
Posted by: Norwegian | May 30 2022 15:24 utc | 35
@Rangewolf | May 30 2022 14:38 utc | 18
I really don't have a lot of sympathy for the Uki people. They voted for this Jew.He was voted in on a program of making peace with the Russians. He Lied. He was a Quisling.
Posted by: Norwegian | May 30 2022 15:29 utc | 36
Zelensky is a puppet.
What makes a better puppet President than a tv actor, especially one who plays the role of a president?
Zelensky is controlled by the "Nudelman Feck-The-EU Brain trust".
His script is written by the Brain-Trust.
Actors have a history of winning elections. They are appealing to voters whom imprint them with their perception of physical attractiveness and personality traits. Because voters, by and large are fools.
Posted by: Chaka Khagan | May 30 2022 15:30 utc | 37
As I recall, the stated objectives of Russia are to back NATO to its 1997 status and that means removing military bases and equipment from Poland and Belarus.
Folks here either don't understand or are purposely blowing smoke by writing that the military operation we are seeing is only about Ukraine. Humanity is in a civilization war about the god of Mammon cult in control of "the West" and the tools of global finance. It may look in Ukraine like a knock down drag out Might-Makes-Right shoot out between Ukraine/NATO and Russia but those efforts are occurring under a MAD umbrella that also has the China/Taiwan issue under it as well as others.
If/when Ukraine is forced to "surrender", it does not necessarily mean the end of the civilization war and world-wide Whack-a-Fascist will need to continue until Hand, The Invisible has the curtain ripped off its face and its power neutered by the un-zombied public of the West.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 30 2022 15:31 utc | 38
From IntelSlava
🇷🇺⚡Project Nemesis. Each neo-Nazi will be identified, each of them will face retribution
Russian hackers continue to target Ukrainian neo-Nazis, mercenaries and other war criminals. Project "Nemesis" establishes fanatics who tortured our military and civilian citizens of Ukraine.
The data of the identified Banderists are made publicly available. There are dozens of Nazi gangs and Ukrainian special forces in the database. Disclosed information about NATO instructors and mercenaries from the former Soviet republics. Provocateurs involved in telephone and network terrorism have also been identified.
The identity of thousands of neo-Nazis and their accomplices, guilty of numerous crimes, has been established. Personal data is recorded, including phone numbers and residential addresses.
Posted by: Down South | May 30 2022 15:33 utc | 40
Next we'll see these two pop up at Ukrainian fund raising dinner with Joe Biden in Washington DC both will get an round of applause.
"A Moscow court has ordered the arrest in absentia of two Ukrainian commanders, accusing them of genocide and the torture of Russian servicemen captured in Ukraine, the court’s press service told TASS on Monday.
The Basmanny Court ruled to keep in custody Andrey Polyakov, commander of the 53rd infantry brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, and Alexey Makhov, commander of the 2nd assault combat battalion of the 95th separate air assault brigade of Ukraine’s armed forces, for two months after their seizure in or extradition to Russia. The two have been put on the international wanted list, the court’s spokeswoman Yekaterina Buravtsova said.
The two Ukrainian officers are the first to have been charged with genocide in Russia since the country began its special military operation in Ukraine, facing up to a life term."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 15:33 utc | 41
French national killed in LPR yesterday was not a journalist as the Western media has been passing him off as, the Ukrainian forces called him a volunteer.
https://tass.com/politics/1458015
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 15:37 utc | 42
oldhippie | May 30 2022 14:55 utc | 28
The one shot hits are I think from their laser guided projectile. A drone illuminates the target and the projectile homes in on it.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 30 2022 15:38 utc | 43
"end the war as soon as possible...There is no way for the Ukraine to turn the situation around or to win the war. The Ukrainian government has to give up. To stop the dying and the extensive amount of damage the war causes it must end now. To prolong it by supplying more money and weapons is criminal and should be punished"
Agree, anything else is mass murder, conspiracy to commit mass murder, no different really than a "school-shooter". DC-folks, like your typical "school-shooter", are suffering from delusions grandeur and a heightened sense of self importance.
It's what draws sociopaths to that swamp on the Potomac...so much death is the natural result of the insular bunker mentality that is DC.
Posted by: S Brennan | May 30 2022 15:40 utc | 44
Good reporting b.
As the 'government' of Ukraine is left with nothing but 'terrorism' to fight against its fate, and with more 'realists' ceding defeat, one expects to see a 'major diplomatic breakthrough' in short order.
Posted by: gottlieb | May 30 2022 15:42 utc | 45
My wonderment is how pro-Russian is Odessa? The rest looks stable but I doubt they can leave any coastline for Ukraine to use and Transnitria needs protection.
As for the rest, there is a horrible truth in not repeating Germany's mistake at Dunkirk. Destroying the British army would have ended the war in an armistice. Likewise with Ukraine.
Posted by: Eighthman | May 30 2022 15:45 utc | 46
psychohistorian | May 30 2022 15:31 utc | 38
Ukraine has been and still is a catalyst for that much larger change. I am hoping to see the collapse of the too big to fail US banks as that will mean the collapse of the western system and US geopolitical power though that may still be a few years away. The hegemon as such will no longer exist.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 30 2022 15:46 utc | 47
I love ya, b, but really?
Is there any question on these boards about what the inevitable result of the war shall be?
I think everyone here, barring the new visitors, agrees that the Ukraine will lose.
The only question, in my mind, is how long will it take before Kiev capitulates; and, in addition to that, whether Russia will accept that surrender (on Kiev's terms) or demand additional terms which Kiev cannot accept (a la Rambouillet--which is an agreement Lavrov and the RF have been often intimating in their declarations regarding this war).
For those who can't remember, the Rambouillet "ceasefire" demanded that Serbia agree to total occupation by NATO forces, total submission of its judiciary and legal system to NATO's imposed legal system, and total capitulation of all police forces to NATO oversight.
This was before the bombing of Serbia/Yugoslavia over Kosevo, and of course Serbia/Yugoslavia refused. Rambouillet was widely touted in the Western press as definitive indication that Yugoslavia/Serbia was "refusing to cooperate", when--of course--many of the more balanced observers from the West (i.e.: Ramsey Clark, etc) were decrying the proposed "agreement" as an obvious bullshit move intended to portray the Yugoslav/Serbian government in a falsely bad light.
This was all Clinton administration ugliness, so many here probably missed it. It was also back in the early era of the Internet, when only queer folk like me bothered with digging into the strategic origins, documented military movements, and precise legal details of foreign conflicts.
I can confess: back in 1992 I was a True Believer in the promise of US intervention in the "Yugoslavian Conflict".
By 1998--thanks to my discovery of "alternate" news sources (i.e.: honest news sources), the scales fell from my eyes, and I was renewed in the Spirit of Truth.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 15:46 utc | 48
"Putin ... [is] no different than every murderous president we have in the US and is exactly what everyone claimed he was."
IhaveLittleToAdd | May 30 2022 15:06 utc | 30
_____
By "everyone" surely you mean every Western propagandist, yourself included. You're attempting to confuse US shock'n awe tactics --- "sweep it all up, things related and not", "destroy the village to save it" --- psycopathy with Russia's singular focus on military targets toward achieving its overarching strategic goals of "demilitarization" and "denazification". There's an enormous difference/distinction. Unlike the the criminal US, Russia, in accordance with international law, has methodically avoided civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure
such as power plants, dams, communications, and the like. Even road, bridge, and rail damage has been limited to tactical necessity. Your equivalency is glaringly false. It is the US that is about to receive devastating, past-due blowback.
Posted by: Doug Hillman | May 30 2022 15:49 utc | 49
@ psychohistorian | May 30 2022 15:31 utc | 38
As I recall, the stated objectives of Russia are to back NATO to its 1997 status and that means removing military bases and equipment from Poland and Belarus.Folks here either don't understand or are purposely blowing smoke by writing that the military operation we are seeing is only about Ukraine.
I'm not questioning your intent nor your credentials, here, PsychoH--but I do wonder if that was part of Putin's declaration.
From what I have seen (and recall), it was:
* Demilitarization of the Ukraine
* Denazification of the Ukraine
* Defense of the Novorossiyan regions
Was there also a fourth part that he declared? If so, I'd appreciate it if you'd provide a link, or some sort of search terms so i can find it easily.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 15:55 utc | 50
Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 15:46 utc | 48
My thoughts - The only terms Ukraine will have to agree to is permanent denazification and permanent neutrality. If pigs can fly and Ukraine wants a negotiated surrender before its forces are pushed completely out of the donbas, Ukraine forces leaving that territory would also be a stipulation.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 30 2022 15:56 utc | 51
In the 'stupid government' category, Joe Biden has been a busy little bee, including waiving tariffs on Ukraine steel products entering the US, but only for one year "as Ukraine’s steel production recovers."
4. The United States and Ukraine have recently engaged in broad security discussions. The current disruption of Ukrainian steel production has been part of those discussions, and the ongoing discussion is anticipated to include alternative measures to prevent imports of steel from Ukraine from threatening the national security of the United States as Ukraine’s steel production recovers from the significant disruption caused by the war.
5. In light of the ongoing security discussions and significant disruption of Ukraine’s ability to produce steel, I conclude that Ukraine’s present situation presents a special case. I have determined to suspend the tariffs set forth in Proclamation 9705 for the import of steel articles and derivative steel articles from Ukraine for 1 year. The Secretary shall monitor the situation in the domestic steel industry and developments in Ukraine’s steel industry and inform me of any need to terminate or extend this suspension. . . IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-sixth. JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.. .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | May 30 2022 16:00 utc | 52
The Rambouillet text, which called on Serbia to admit NATO troops throughout Yugoslavia, was a provocation, an excuse to start bombing. Rambouillet is not a document that an angelic Serb could have accepted. It was a terrible diplomatic document that should never have been presented in that form.
— Henry Kissinger, The Daily Telegraph, 28 June 1999
A day late and a dollar short.
Kissinger's remarks of late are, more timely. Though he glosses over Russia's Security needs vis a vis neighboring NATO states and all that entails.
Posted by: Chaka Khagan | May 30 2022 16:02 utc | 53
What's interesting to me is how the Western puppet governments of places like Bulgaria, Macedonia and Montenegro have to play along with the EU because they are NATO members. That can't sit well with their populace. I bet the average man on the street in Greece has high support for Russia as well.
Posted by: TempoNick | May 30 2022 16:05 utc | 54
@ Peter AU1 | May 30 2022 15:56 utc | 51
My thoughts - The only terms Ukraine will have to agree to is permanent denazification and permanent neutrality. If pigs can fly and Ukraine wants a negotiated surrender before its forces are pushed completely out of the donbas, Ukraine forces leaving that territory would also be a stipulation.
"Permanent denazification" implies a vastly authoritative control over the Ukrainian educational system, its policing institutions, and its military. So the moment you say "only", there, you're trying to dodge the really hard questions that phrase implies.
Rambouillet also implied such control, but it was far less precise in its targets. Essentially, "Let NATO decide your judiciary, educational system, and policing system"--but without explaining what such NATO decisions would enforce.
"Permanent Denazification" means precisely what it states: no Nazi dogma allowed.
Since Nazi dogma is pretty well established and defined, that's a far cry from Rambouillet.
So my ultimate point is: what Russia's asking for is a far sight removed from what the Clinton/NATO junta demanded of Yugoslavia/Serbia, back-in-the-day.
Thus, "the West" has very little legal virtue to fall back on in their protestations over the legal demands which motivated this war.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 16:05 utc | 55
A well thought-out article. All Ukrainians are not Nazis and many have been conscripted to fight against their will. So when I read of so much death and maiming I cannot but feel for my fellow man, engaged in a futile war (aren't all wars futile?). The article hits the nail on the head in its summation.
"There is no way for the Ukraine to turn the situation around or to win the war. The Ukrainian government has to give up. To stop the dying and the extensive amount of damage the war causes it must end now. To prolong it by supplying more money and weapons is criminal and should be punished."
@ James Cook | May 30 2022 14:38 utc | 19
It almost certainly won't end well but it is best not to abandon all hope.
Posted by: MarkU | May 30 2022 16:07 utc | 57
Don Bacon | May 30 2022 16:00 utc | 52
Quite safe to lift steel tariffs now in a magnanimously empty gesture. The largest steelworks in Europe is destroyed, another very large one not far away now part of Russia and possibly some damage, Ukraine blockading the port it still controls and rail system partially functional.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 30 2022 16:10 utc | 58
Denmark sending harpoon anti-ship missiles to Ukrainian forces.
"Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says his country has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States, arms that would be used to by forces fighting Russia's military operation.
"The coastal defense of our country will not only be strengthened by Harpoon missiles – they will be used by trained Ukrainian teams," Reznikov wrote on his Facebook page.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/05/29/682944/Ukraine-receives-western-missiles,-howitzers
Harpoon shore-to-ship missiles would be operated alongside Ukrainian Neptune missiles to defend the coast, including the southern port of Odesa, he said."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 16:10 utc | 59
@ Chaka Khagan | May 30 2022 16:02 utc | 53
The Rambouillet text, which called on Serbia to admit NATO troops throughout Yugoslavia, was a provocation, an excuse to start bombing. Rambouillet is not a document that an angelic Serb could have accepted. It was a terrible diplomatic document that should never have been presented in that form.— Henry Kissinger, The Daily Telegraph, 28 June 1999
A day late and a dollar short.
Kissinger's remarks of late are, more timely. Though he glosses over Russia's Security needs vis a vis neighboring NATO states and all that entails.
Seems to me you're trying to whitewash Kissinger's crimes by pretending he was a force for "good"--after Brzinski superceded him and he started criticizing the same sort of "realpolitik" he himself had advocated, for so long.
Kissinger's remarks on Rambouillet were accurate, as--frankly--were many thousands of other formal political and conscientious objectors.
That doesn't change the fact (!) that Kissinger pushed for the Nuremberg-class criminal carpet-bombing of Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 16:13 utc | 60
"The incumbent, Poroshenko is also Jewish."
The neocon Jews in the US State Department removed the Ukrainian government to install Jews to run Ukraine.
Posted by: TempoNick | May 30 2022 16:14 utc | 61
This is very interesting, I can see this being the cause of a not so distant famine that will be blamed on Russia.
"On Saturday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the US is triggering a food crisis in Ukraine by stripping the country from its grain reveres.
“US President Joe Biden's statement on May 10 about the need to look for opportunities to export 20 mln tones of grain from Ukraine coincided with the signing of the Lend-Lease law for Ukraine. Turns out, Kiev will pay for weapons with wheat,” she said at a press conference."
"Russia and Ukraine together produce almost 30 percent of the global wheat supply.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), which purchases almost 50 percent of its grain from Ukraine, feeds some 125 million people around the world.
Zakharova further stressed that the US and its European allies have already expressed intentions to export 20 million tons of grain from Ukraine within two and a half months, purportedly for their transportation to African and Middle Eastern countries in order to prevent a food crisis there.
“However, in reality, grain is transported to warehouses in Europe. Rail, road, and river routes are organized for its delivery to destinations in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, and Bulgaria,” the Russian diplomat added."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 16:18 utc | 62
@36 "He was voted in on a program of making peace with the Russians."
That was part of it. I think Ukrainians thought he could get them into the EU.
Posted by: dh | May 30 2022 16:19 utc | 63
PA-#48
"whether Russia will accept that surrender (on Kiev's terms) or demand additional terms which Kiev cannot accept"
Uhm...I am not sure if you understand the concept of war so, let me help; the time to negotiate on favorable terms is:
1] Before the war starts;
2] After your side has gained advantage on the field of battle.
Neither of these conditions exists today, Ukraine at the behest of DC's Princesses/Princes of the Potomac, sought war and eschewed negotiation [see Minsk-agreements] and now what they must suffer is a humiliating surrender. All the fanboys and propaganda does is forestall that conclusion...only the US willingness to put the world to the torch can change that outcome and the sociopaths in DC know it.
DC's vainglorious decades of bluster and bluff have been called, the cards are on the table, they can either pay or the card-room/[world] into a blood soaked slaughter-house, the Ruskies have had it up to here with DC's bullshit.
Posted by: S Brennan | May 30 2022 16:20 utc | 64
@ my 64
"...or [TURN] the card-room/[world] into..."
Posted by: S Brennan | May 30 2022 16:25 utc | 65
Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 16:05 utc | 55
I have always seen central Ukraine as neutral. Bandera ideology comes from Galicia. Bandera/OUN and everything emanating from that era of Galicia would have to be outlawed in the Ukraine constitution.
Poland want Galicia back. That is back to the Bandera beginnings. Galician peasants vs their Polish overlords. The agreement Zelensky signed with Poland gives Poles positions of power. Policing, judiciary, political positions. Very much back to the future for Galicia with Poles again their masters. That agreement is a wait and see what arises situation. A planted seed.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 30 2022 16:27 utc | 66
I don't have Telegram, but someone posted this on facebook. It sounds about right to me.
"There has long been a group of NATO advisers within the staff [Ukrainian] who is planning military operations. Recently, a strong confrontation has started due to the attitude of American generals who consider our troops as cannon fodder sent to be slaughtered on the eastern front. Mr. Zaluzhny disagrees on this issue with the political leaders of the country, who support the opinion of the [NATO] advisers”, writes the Ukrainian Telegram channel “Resident”.
" As stated earlier the chain Telegram Legitimniy, a group of officers of the US armed forces were deployed in Ukraine. These officers have the power to issue direct orders to units and Ukrainian formations, and to cancel the orders of command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the National Guard. In case of disobedience to American orders, kyiv may be left without financial and military support from Washington." '
Posted by: wagelaborer | May 30 2022 16:31 utc | 67
@ S Brennan | May 30 2022 16:20 utc | 64
Uhm...I am not sure if you understand the concept of war....
Odd how you lead with that, and then go on to validate pretty much everything i laid out in my original post. To quote you:
Ukraine at the behest of DC's Princesses/Princes of the Potomac, sought war and eschewed negotiation [see Minsk-agreements] and now what they must suffer is a humiliating surrender.
Yes, we agree on that. Also, what do you have to add?
All the fanboys and propaganda does is forestall that conclusion...only the US willingness to put the world to the torch can change that outcome and the sociopaths in DC know it.
Yap. Just as was the case with Rambouillet, when Russia had the choice of, as you say, "putting the world to the torch", or not.
So what's your point?
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 16:31 utc | 68
This is very interesting, I can see this being the cause of a not so distant famine that will be blamed on Russia.Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 30 2022 16:18 utc | 62
Oh, not only that, Sir. China will get its share of the blame, too. The focus of the Empire of Lies is shifting as we speak. Ukraine is lost, so now it's time to ratchet up against China.
The special rapporteur for the UN on Human Rights, Chilean Michelle Bachelet, got a veritable sh1tstorm in German media for "parroting official state propaganda" and just not wanting to see the what the western narrative told western audiences. But read for yourself (in German):
german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8933
TL;DR: China is up next for yuuuge sanctions, as EU-Ukraine copium dwindles. The question is: How much of its own sanctions can the EU take? (EU finance/economy outlooks are bleak already, and them Russkie sanctions are only three months in.)
Posted by: Nervous German | May 30 2022 16:34 utc | 69
just a guess, but i'd say most if not all of the western BS starts with - as you, saker and others have alluded to - projection. the NATOtards and their masters just assume the russians have to take the entire country to "win". just as the feint and (willing) withdrawal from the kiev area was portrayed as a "loss", as is the russian lack of interest in the western parts of 404.
now that they realize the russians have no use for "shock and awe" scotched earth tactics and are basically cleansing the east they're very slowly "getting it". once that's done and the ukie military is more or less gone kiev can either grow a pair and negotiate without US/UK input or "lie back and think of england" while they get carved up and partitioned by russia and the pack of bloc wolves around them.
Posted by: the pair | May 30 2022 16:39 utc | 70
From Chisinau, Moldova
As a journalist who has been in and around Ukraine and filed on-scene reports for the past two month I passionately root for Russia every day. Not because I am pro-Russian, but because I am pro-truth and know that the sooner the Russian Army and the militias of the DPR, LPR and Donbas can hold on to their regions and decimate the AFU and their Nazi influence the sooner the Ukrainian traitor Zelesnsky will be forced to accept peace. And then this war will end!
But I would suggest, after writing seven parts of my ongoing series, that NATO tricks are from over particularly in the southern region from Odessa, under landlocked Moldova and southward to the Romanian border. This I highlighted in Part Four, "Ukraine, Romania, Moldova vs. Transnistria... a WW III
Scenario."
https://watchingromeburn.uk/news/transnistria-moldova-romaina-world-war-three-scenario
The concerns of NATO trickery are not over in Moldova as western backed and recently elected president Maia Sandu recently had a Moldovan court arrest her predecessor and main opposition leader Igor Dodon in Zelensky style fashion.
My on-scene article on this advent and why, is out today:
https://watchingromeburn.uk/news/moldova-president-sandu-arrests-opposition-leader-dodon/
Again I pray-and write- from Moldova in an effort to see this war end before traitors like Sandu and Zelensky help NATO gut both countries to their core.
I believe that the PR battle by MSM that propagates this war by insulting the minds of the western audience to support a tangibly neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine is now being lost thanks to the great work of publishers like MoA , South Front, Global Research, Unz Review, Strategic Culture and the very few others who have allowed excellent truth telling journalist like Mike Whitney, Pepe Escobar, Andrew Anglin and the other few journalists who also ascribe to the correct mandates of journalism past to present this truth and hence educate properly the public and chance public opinion that will stop this war. I hope that my work has allowed me to join this list of honored guests to this cause.
Please note: Although I am a regular reader of MoA, this is my first post and I hope the editors will forgive me for referring to may own work here:
Regardless, I hope the other commenters will find my work acceptable and will turn their attentions and concerns to Moldova as I have done. For further analysis of the incorrectly reported war perhaps the denizens of this fine publication will join me and the few others with proper conscience and review my seven part ( so far ) series at: watchingromeburn.uk
May this war end soon and we all celebrate the efforts of those dedicated to that cause. Personally I live-and write- for that day!
With Kind Regards to all, Brett Redmayne-Titley
Posted by: Brett Redmayne-Title | May 30 2022 16:41 utc | 71
Posted by: Pacifica Advocate | May 30 2022 16:31 utc | 68
When NATO invaded Serbia, Russia could not have but the world to a candle or a match. The total incapacity of Russia in the 1990s to do anything was the reason that NATO (US) was able to invade Serbia.
On the other hand from the little i have read, this US decision has backfired and indirectly led to the current situation. It was probably from the Oliver Stone interview but i got the impression that it was Serbia that angered a Putin and led to his loss of faith in the West, and it seems Yeltsin too, whom Putin defends. Perhaps Yeltsin's selection of Putin was directly due to Yeltsin's loss of faith and trust in the US. The rest as they say is history.
Posted by: watcher | May 30 2022 16:41 utc | 72
@Doug Hillman
Take a look at the artillery video again and tell me how civilians are being avoided in even this carefully curated video released for public consumption. I’ll suggest it wise not to buy into the idea that this, or that, military has a special new tactic or weapon that spares civilians when none have before. Wars are horrible. Ours were. This one is and will continue to be.
And yes, there will be blowback. Our wars have rotted our culture, and made us more violent. The same will apply to Russia with the added bonus of the young children of the people killed in those wonderfully precise artillery attacks will grow up next door and want their anger felt someday.
Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | May 30 2022 16:42 utc | 73
Posted by: Rangewolf | May 30 2022 14:38 utc | 18
Ukrainians are victims of capitalist subjectification, just like everyone in the West. Zelensky is Jewish and Biden is Catholic; they both serve Mammon and nothing they do is for the benefit of any ethnic or religious group. Accumulated wealth and its voracious need for raw materials and 'free' markets drive all its wars perpetrated since 1945. Blaming any particular group or religion for these wars is the result of capitalist subjectivity, which developed these objects of hate to divide the consciousness of minimum and median wage earners to prevent democratic opposition to the conspiracies of the ruling class for full spectrum global domination.
Posted by: Wilikins | May 30 2022 16:43 utc | 74
IHAVELITTLETOADD @ 30
You're wrong. You should try to look further out than just the propagandized, pseudo-moral "outrage" you've been programmed with in the West. You fall into the MSM void of ad hominem attack when the broader perspective alludes you. Ask yourself a question - see what your answer is. If honest, you might spy the glimmerings of a different perspective. Here's the question: Given the primary duty of State leadership is the preservation of the nation's security, and, given the History of invasions of the State from the West,and, given the extent of natural resources within the State, and, given the massive de-population of the State historically suffered repulsing those previous Western invasions,and,given the continuous development of new weapons systems, and, given those new weapons systems may, one day, neutralize your final, nuclear protection, and, given climate change will reduce agricultural output worldwide in coming years, especially outside your borders, thereby making your potential food-growing capacity a prize of "Lebensraum" proportions to the West, and, given that the West has been pushing its military forces closer to you borders year upon year,and, given they won't even discuss your apprehensions, but use every opportunity to degrade and intimidate you, if you were Putin, what would you do? A good analyst gets into the shoes of the "others." You should try it.
Posted by: hoggy | May 30 2022 16:45 utc | 75
I never thought that I would hear myself saying this but Brett Redmayne-Title@71 Thank you for your service!
Posted by: bevin | May 30 2022 16:45 utc | 76
@wagelaborer | May 30 2022 16:31 utc | 67
" As stated earlier the chain Telegram Legitimniy, a group of officers of the US armed forces were deployed in Ukraine. These officers have the power to issue direct orders to units and Ukrainian formations, and to cancel the orders of command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the National Guard. In case of disobedience to American orders, kyiv may be left without financial and military support from Washington." '
There is the money quote. I think only the Ukrainian military can possibly throw these scum out and make an acceptable peace deal. The Ukrainian political class is incapable of saying no to western money. To do this UAF command would somehow have to sideline the nazis within their own ranks though, as well a deport the NATO scum.
Posted by: the pessimist | May 30 2022 16:46 utc | 77
Just a note to myself. There are no good guys in this war, only plenty of bad guys. And the worst are to be found in Foggy Bottom.
Posted by: ChrisHerz | May 30 2022 16:48 utc | 78
@ Tom_12 | May 30 2022 14:11 utc | 9
Apparently red mist doesn't count as a battlefield casualty at NYT.
Posted by: Vincent Berg | May 30 2022 16:50 utc | 79
The provocation of Russia was a strategic move to get Finland and Sweden into NATO to prepare for the conflict in the arctic.
The Ukraine is not nearly so important as the arctic where the Russians have a head start in positioning themselves.
The arctic has some of the last undiscovered fossil fuel deposits.
All in all the US strategy is working out to perfection.
The Europeans are even dumber than the most optimistic assessments could have guessed and can be moved like pawns on a chessboard.
Posted by: bottle | May 30 2022 16:50 utc | 80
We are told these neo-Nazi commissars are embedded in each VSU unit. If anyone want to surrender, they are shot. What I don't understand is why don't the regular VSU troops just frag these guys and surrender? Better that than dead.
Posted by: Mesopotamian-America | May 30 2022 16:53 utc | 81
39 Is this a Mensheviks versus Bolsheviks civil war?
no! (all caps) The first law after the coup was about language exclusion. The fascists tying up ethnic Hungarian and gypsy (Roma) and spanking, kicking, sadistic shaming out east is another exemplar of fascist racism. The Ukranian fascists (and the filth who have gone over there to train with and/or fight with) exemplify a core belief in the German term "Untermenschen." First you subjugate the under par sub-humans. Later as time goes on you murder them en mass.
A second argument against your Mene vs. Bolsh is the extemely anti labour and anti union recent actions of the ukranian govt.
You really should read and think more before posting such sophomoric excrement.
Posted by: paxmark1 | May 30 2022 16:53 utc | 82
The question rather is: What is Russia willing to accept to abandon hostilities?
If, as proven, it cannot trust any assurances that NATO is willing to give, it cannot rely on any word of anything NATO says, would it not be better to demonstrate the seriousness of Russia and state an example to emphasize how far Russia is willing to move to ensure NATO never threatens Russia again? Like, destroy the NATO HQ in Brussels and a few military airfields? Just by conventional means of course.
Wouldn't it be a shame for all that glass to break? https://youtu.be/2GzFBKLatL0
Posted by: Peter Moritz | May 30 2022 17:04 utc | 83
Most excellent write up. especially enjoined the TO&E of the Nato BCE and the Russian Motor Rifle Brigade. Agree with your analysis, Russians are winning and the casualty ratio is probably very one sided.
Posted by: John Neal Spangler | May 30 2022 17:07 utc | 84
Everyone knows this war is far from over. The Empire expected Putin to make much shorter work of matters. The heading towards a high kinetic war lasting many months was just gravy on the spuds. Putin’s stated objectives was the removal of NATO from areas east of Germany. Poland (and the Baltic Republic )sees that as the end of their sovereignty. Anyone who has studied the history of warfare in the steppes understands, it is all about logistics. The Ukrainian objective is to make a fighting withdrawal to the Dnipier. Regardless of the success of that maneuver, Russian troops will have to stop at the Dneiper to allow logistical support systems to catch up. Like Serbia in 1914, the Ukrainians just need to stay in the game.
It will be up to Putin whether to go west of the Dneiper. Regardless he will lack the capacity until very late summer or so early autumn. A lot can happen in 4 months.
Posted by: Wobblie | May 30 2022 17:17 utc | 85
Posted by: TempoNick | May 30 2022 16:05 utc | 54
There's a video on Telegram of a car in Greece flying the Russian flag and a 'refugee' Ukrainian attacks the driver who strikes back and beats the crap out of the Ukrainian!
Posted by: Barofsky | May 30 2022 17:25 utc | 86
Posted by: John Neal Spangler | May 30 2022 17:07 utc | 84
I'm sure the Russians have lost at least 3000 people, a couple of weeks ago it was approaching 2000. This is no cake walk for Russia, there are a lot of Russian families grieving.
Posted by: Barofsky | May 30 2022 17:27 utc | 87
This is not where thinking men go to discuss the need for a cease fire. Apparently this is a bro website where we hoorah and high-five one another about the power of artillery raining down on population centers. I am a strong critic of the "Pussy Riot" foreign policy of my country vis a vis Russia in the recent past, needlessly provocative. I have been baffled by it and oppose it. I even did a FOIA request about some things til losing interest when copy charges were requested. However Russia's insane war makes no sense by its own terms. "de-nazify" the neighboring country? Any one whose house or car or property is destroyed or anything they care about at all like roads and bridges and schools and business districts - they are going to hate the ones who destroyed it, to say nothing of lives lost and ruined by horrible injuries. I realize the track record of US foreign policy makes us hypocritical to criticize this war, but it is still a bullshit war that needs to stop as soon as possible. Among the propagandists and disinformation bots there are a number of thinking people who comment here. Where is the discussion of a cease fire for Ukraine? What is needed ASAP is de-escalations by both sides verified by neutrals through some mechanism agreed to by both sides.
Posted by: Patrick Constantine | May 30 2022 17:30 utc | 88
For most of the younger Ukrainians the Russian Special Military Operation was a godsend. They no longer had to wait for the Ukraine to become part of the Schengen Area or until they got a visa. Now they could claim to be refugees and waltz into Germany or Italy, get all sorts of freebies, and be treated like minor royalty. I'm willing to bet less than 1% of those "refugees" ever even heard an explosion or gunfire far off in the distance. As soon as they saw on TV that the Russians had started an operation it was like "Ka-ching! London, here I come! Have a nice flat and a Mercedes waiting for me." I'd further bet that as many "refugees" were trying to avoid conscription as were trying to avoid the Russians; probably more.
The point is that there is no 100,000 prime fighters left in the Ukraine to make the super fighting force that Davis fantasizes about. That is Hollywood nonsense. The Ukrainians couldn't get good material for elite forces before, and now that everybody who can leave has left they are down to the bottom of the barrel. The only people left are the ones who cannot even be refugees.
Too many people in the West consume so much garbage American entertainment that it warps their ability to deal with reality. It is bizarre because many people in the West are fully aware of the brain damage American entertainment causes. This is why over the last decade or two they have significantly cut back on casting beautiful women in entertainment: they are deliberately trying to lower media consumer's expectations for women and lower beauty standards while boosting the self-esteem of obese, foul-mouthed wildebeests with greasy fluorescent hair.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 30 2022 17:31 utc | 89
@Posted by: bottle | May 30 2022 16:50 utc | 80
You ascribe a level of evil genius to the Western elites which simply does not exist. In the past two decades such "evil geniuses" have (i) allowed China to rise to the level of peer competitor while they focused on the GWOT (ii) alienated a Russia that wanted to be part of the West to the point of it becoming a partner of China (iii) destroyed their own manufacturing base to the point of not being able to make weapons cost-effectively or even competently (iv) destroyed its ally Iraq and delivered it into the hands of Iran (v) destroyed Syria and forced it into the arms of Iran and Russia.
I could keep continuing the list for many pages. The West, especially the US, is in the final stages of Empire - the takeover by the financiers, profiteers and rentiers who strip mine the strengths that were built up over previous decades and centuries. The engineers, competent longer-term managers etc. are gone. What we see are tactical players who wallow in a ridiculous state of bravado after the Soviet collapse. They were insulted by Putin's rejection of the Western profiteering in 2003 and Xi's nationalism in 2012, they were stunned by Russia's destruction of their regime change plans in Syria, and also by Putin's taking of the Crimea to stop the Black Sea from becoming a Western lake. Even more stunned by China's refusal to back down in the face of escalations and trade tariffs, and also its refusal to allow for Covid chaos.
They are also split between the Russia-haters (Democrats) and the "China is the real enemy" crowd (Republicans), wasting so much energy currently attempting to crush Russia two decades too late. Deep down they are simply filthy profiteers, turning Afghanistan into a corrupt project to enrich themselves rather than having the Afghanis love them if an Afghani Marshall Plan had been launched. The same in the Ukraine with the support of the corrupt oligarchs and the syphoning off of the wealth. As Russia liberates new areas they will liberate the minds of the Ukrainian people, who will be able to rid themselves of the Nazi, oligarchic shit and embrace new opportunities (unless they are Nazi, oligarchic shit screwing up Western Europe).
The idiots in the West really thought that their economic war would crush Russia, and that those that they had treated as enemies and vassals would ally with them against the Russians, instead 7/8ths of humanity refused. So now they thrash about. Yes. Europe has been split from Russia but for how long? In the interim Europe will implode without the cheap and reliable energy its industries need. Finland and Sweden? Mere tiny morsels prepared to the big EurAsia game. Oil and gas in the Arctic, perhaps close to the continental shelf and coastlines but the deeper Arctic will be an utter nightmare for development and production. What oil price would be needed to make that even marginally profitable (the net energy calculations would be very interesting!)?
At this point the US Empire managerial class is full of Generals who never fought a war against a peer competitor (but have fought lots of internal political wars to clamber up the greasy pole and curry favour with their future employers), Ivy League arts and humanities graduates who don't understand basic engineering and science concepts (e.g. modern societies run on cheap energy and that oil refineries only work with specific types of oil, its not all fungible), and boot lickers who have internalized the required ideology of US greatness that is required to climb up the US political/MIIC/think tank/finance complex. They will be thrashing around in their own careerism, greed and incompetence for the next decades as the multipolar world becomes the norm.
Patrick Constantine | May 30 2022 17:30 utc | 88
And what did useless hand wringers like yourself do to help the ethnic Russians of Ukraine for the past eight years. You and the other clown who overstates how much he/she has to contribute.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 30 2022 17:39 utc | 91
Patrick Constantine @88
The Russians will cease fire when the Nazis are gone, either to the grave or to prison. The war should not be stopped until that point is reached.
Stopping now would leave Nazi death squads in power in the Ukraine. Why is it that you want Nazi death squads to remain in power in the Ukraine? Are you a Nazi? I think you are, and you identify with those Nazis who are being exterminated, thus your sudden interest in hostilities ending in the Ukraine.
"...verified by neutrals..."
You mean like the OSCE? Who are these "neutrals" that you speak of? Clue: They don't exist. You yourself are a Nazi-lover though you will strenuously deny it. Russophobia and Naziphilia permeates the West right now so the Russians have no choice but to denazify the hard way. They tried for eight fuckin` years to do it the gentle way. Where was your concern then?
No, your concern and your ideas about how things should be done are useless. The Nazis will die, and that is good. The people whole tolerated or enabled the Nazis will be deeply inconveniences and offended, and that is just too bad. Take a Xanax and cope.
Posted by: William Gruff | May 30 2022 17:47 utc | 92
@Posted by: Patrick Constantine | May 30 2022 17:30 utc | 88
I can't remember which military leader (Napoleon?) stated that his Generals won wars and then his diplomats turned them into defeats. You would be one of those diplomats. The Ukraine is an existential threat to Russia, that requires excision. In addition, the mafia West only understands strength, to show weakness now would both embolden the West and destroy the domestic legitimacy of the Russian government. When your opponent is on the ropes you keep hitting him until he lands on the floor unable to get up, you don't back off to give him time to recuperate. The West will never back down, and a cease-fire would only provide time for a restrengthening of the Ukrainian state and military.
If you study many battles you will see that the point at which the enemy forces turn and run is when victory is assured, they must be cornered, chased and destroyed (hopefully more in POW camps rather than in the ground). Anything less and they will simply regroup and come back for another round (just like the UK after the Nazis didn't crush them at Dunkirk). The saying in WW2 was that the allies made the mistake not to invade Germany and remake its society in WW1, so thats what would be required in WW2; a lesson was learnt.
I expect the cries for a cease-fire to escalate to a cacophony as the rout starts to take hold, Russia must stay the course.
"This is not where thinking men go to discuss the need for a cease fire" - PC@ 88
True, the ceasefire you so desperately seek [and are apparently completely ignorant of] was granted back in 2016, it was called the Minsk Agreement.
The Ukrainian-government/Banderaists-Nazis would not honor that cease-fire and they continued shelling the civilian population of Eastern-Ukraine daily for seven years, in spite of pleadings to honor the "cease-fire" but...apparently, "thinking men" like you didn't "discuss the need for a cease fire" during the seven years that proceeded this war, only now, when it serves the US's purposes does the subject of a cease merit discussion.
The shelling of innocent civilians that "thinking men" in DC so long ignored led to a crescendo of shelling in preparation for the Stepan-Banderists to impose a "final-solution" upon the eastern Slavs, just as their forefathers had done in WW-II. Which is perhaps why...so many here find your abject subservience to DCs lie-strewn foreign policy not worthy of discussion?
Posted by: S Brennan | May 30 2022 17:58 utc | 94
Peter AU1 @ 43
Yes, that is the main way to do it from what I understand. This is a huge change. Artillery can be very accurate and spotters have always been a thing. But it still took many shells and a lot of bombardment to hit the one piece of the puzzle you were really after. Hitting the target with one shot is like having a hundred times as many guns blazing. This has been done before but never routinely and wholesale the way it is done now. Russia does not have a monopoly on the technique, they sure are using it a lot.
Yes, US did this long ago in Iraq. Not quite the same.
Posted by: oldhippie | May 30 2022 18:01 utc | 95
@81 "What I don't understand is why don't the regular VSU troops just frag these guys and surrender?"
There are probably some who would like to do that. Problem is lack of trust. As soon as some guy says "I'll shoot the officer then we all desert OK?" he will get turned in.
Posted by: dh | May 30 2022 18:04 utc | 96
Damn, but look at all of the new posters in this thread spewing State Department putrescence!
I think our host hit a nerve!
Posted by: William Gruff | May 30 2022 18:05 utc | 97
It won't be officially over until there's a final excuse from UK.
Charge of the Lightly-regarded Brigade.
Posted by: Roger Erickson | May 30 2022 18:10 utc | 99
To understand US objectives study the Sino-Japanese War. From US strategic positioning, it is a Pacific power first and foremost. Just as Japan was the strategic enemy for the US in WWII, China is the strategic enemy today. For the US, Ukraine serves the purpose of preparing itself for the confrontation with China. So for US objectives Russia can push all the way into the urban heartland of Germany, and still achieve its strategic objectives. I see no way for Putin to achieve his stated objectives. The war will be catastrophic.
Posted by: Wobblie | May 30 2022 18:11 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
How long before the BBC announces - "The battle for E. Ukraine has ended. The Banderite Army, under the exemplary leadership of Mr. Zelensky, true to it's oath to fight to the last breath, has succumbed to the enemy's superiority and unfavourable circumstances".
Posted by: Merkin Scot | May 30 2022 13:46 utc | 1