Ukraine SitRep - Russians Break Through U.S. Bolsterism
On May 14 I noted that the U.S. had asked Russia for a ceasefire in Ukraine:
The U.S. readout of the call says:
On May 13, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Russian Minister of Defense Sergey Shoygu for the first time since February 18. Secretary Austin urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication.Austin initiated the call and the U.S. is seeking a ceasefire in Ukraine!!!
Yesterday the top officers of the U.S. and Russia had a call which, again, the U.S. side had initiated:
Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, held a conversation that the Pentagon declined to further detail beyond acknowledging it had happened.
Thinks must be bad in Ukraine for this to have happened. Indeed if one trusts the daily 'clobber list' the Russian Ministry of Defense puts out all positions of the Ukrainian army are under heavy artillery fire and it is losing about 500 men per day. There are additional Russian effective strikes on training camps, weapon storage sites and transport hubs all over the country.
On top of that the tactical situation at the eastern frontline has changed after Russian forces broke through the heavily fortified frontline.
Source: liveuamap.com - bigger
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This breakthrough gives the chance to roll up the Ukrainian fortifications along the frontline through flank attacks or from behind. By cutting the supply lines of the Ukrainian troops to the north and south envelopes can be created which will eventual lead to cauldrons with no way out for the Ukrainian troops.
This is especially dangerous for the several thousand soldiers north of the bulge which currently defend the cities of Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk in the north eastern part of the upper bubble.
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The Russian plan was to have another breakthrough from the north pushing to Siversk to then close the upper envelope. But after several failed attempts to cross the forest area and the Seversky Donets river that breakthrough has still to happen.
Russia is now likely to push fresh troops into the Propasna bulge to extend its reach into all directions. Reports of current actions show that the heavy fighting and bombing on the frontline continues and that bombing also continues to target traffic nodes.
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Other fronts in Ukraine are currently relatively quiet with little direct fire. Still daily Russian artillery attacks hits all Ukrainian front lines and will cost daily casualties.
Some 2,000 Azov militia and Ukrainian army troops have left the catacombs of Azovstal in Mariupol. Another thousand may still be down there. The Russian army is filtering these prisoners. Members of Azov and other militia will be put to court. Ukrainian army soldiers will become prisoners of war.
The gasoline and diesel scarcity in Ukraine is currently having severe impacts. Even the Ukrainian military is now rationing its fuel. Since about six weeks ago Russia has systematically attacked refineries and fuel storage sites in Ukraine. It also disabled railroad bridges along the lines that brought fuel from Moldova and Romania.
At the same time the Ukrainian government had held up price regulations for fuel. The consumer sale prices for diesel and gasoline were fixed. The cost of fuel brought in by private trucks from Poland exceeded the price gas station owners could ask for. In consequence gas stations ran dry as their owners refrained from purchasing new fuel.
Three days ago the Zelensky regime in Kiev finally ended the fuel price control:
According to [economy minister] Svyrydenko, the government expects that the maximum prices for diesel will not exceed UAH 58 ($1.97), for gasoline — UAH 52 ($1.76) per liter, once controls are lifted.“As soon as we feel that market operators are abusing their position, we will impose sanctions on them,” she added.
“We will monitor the situation on a daily basis”.
The expected prices are lower than what is currently asked for in Germany and that is without trucking the fuel the 600 kilometer from Poland to Kiev. The threat of sanctions also means that local wholesalers will have little incentives to actually deal in fuel. With the average wages in Ukraine being about $480 per months the real fuel prices will soon become another economic shock.
The Ukrainian government also continues its attacks on unions and labor laws:
In March, the Ukrainian parliament passed wartime legislation that severely curtailed the ability of trade unions to represent their members, introduced ‘suspension of employment’ (meaning employees are not fired, but their work and wages are suspended) and gave employers the right to unilaterally suspend collective agreements.
...
But beyond this temporary measure, a group of Ukrainian MPs and officials are now aiming to further ‘liberalise’ and ‘de-Sovietise’ the country’s labour laws. Under a draft law, people who work in small and medium-sized firms – those which have up to 250 employees – would, in effect, be removed from the country’s existing labour laws and covered by individual contracts negotiated with their employer. More than 70% of the Ukrainian workforce would be affected by this change.Against a background of concerns that Ukrainian officials are using Russia’s invasion to push through a long-awaited radical deregulation of labour laws, one expert has warned that the introduction of civil law into labour relations risks opening a “Pandora’s box” for workers.
In total the social-economic situation for Ukraine is catastrophic. The military situation is even worse. Mariupol has fallen and Russian troops working there will soon be able to go elsewhere. The Propasna bulge is threatening to envelope the whole northern frontline together with the core of the Ukrainian army.
There is no more talk of the Ukrainian army 'winning' like in Kiev or Karkov where the Russian troops retreated in good order after finishing their task of holding Ukrainian forces in place.
The Ukrainian command has sent several territorial brigades to the front lines. These units were supposed to defend their home towns. They consist of middle age men drafted into service. They have little fighting experience and lack heavy weapons. Several of these units have published videos saying they were giving up. They are lamenting that their commanders left them when their situation became critical.
That the Ukrainian army is now using such units as cannon fodder shows that it has only few reserves left.
Weapons that come in from the 'west' have difficulties reaching the front lines and had so far very little effect. They amount to drops of water on a hot plate.
All the above are the reasons why Austin and Milley have phoned up their Russian equivalents. They are also the reasons why the New York Times editors call on the Biden administration to end its bluster and to take a more realistic position:
Recent bellicose statements from Washington — President Biden’s assertion that Mr. Putin “cannot remain in power,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comment that Russia must be “weakened” and the pledge by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, that the United States would support Ukraine “until victory is won” — may be rousing proclamations of support, but they do not bring negotiations any closer.
In the end, it is the Ukrainians who must make the hard decisions: They are the ones fighting, dying and losing their homes to Russian aggression, and it is they who must decide what an end to the war might look like. If the conflict does lead to real negotiations, it will be Ukrainian leaders who will have to make the painful territorial decisions that any compromise will demand.
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[A]s the war continues, Mr. Biden should also make clear to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will go to confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster. It is imperative that the Ukrainian government’s decisions be based on a realistic assessment of its means and how much more destruction Ukraine can sustain.
Confronting this reality may be painful, but it is not appeasement. This is what governments are duty bound to do, not chase after an illusory “win.” Russia will be feeling the pain of isolation and debilitating economic sanctions for years to come, and Mr. Putin will go down in history as a butcher. The challenge now is to shake off the euphoria, stop the taunting and focus on defining and completing the mission. America’s support for Ukraine is a test of its place in the world in the 21st century, and Mr. Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to help define what that will be.
Posted by b on May 20, 2022 at 16:49 UTC | Permalink
next page »b's closing paragraphs:
"[A]s the war continues, Mr. Biden should also make clear to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will go to confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster. It is imperative that the Ukrainian government’s decisions be based on a realistic assessment of its means and how much more destruction Ukraine can sustain.
Confronting this reality may be painful, but it is not appeasement. This is what governments are duty bound to do, not chase after an illusory “win.” Russia will be feeling the pain of isolation and debilitating economic sanctions for years to come, and Mr. Putin will go down in history as a butcher. The challenge now is to shake off the euphoria, stop the taunting and focus on defining and completing the mission. America’s support for Ukraine is a test of its place in the world in the 21st century, and Mr. Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to help define what that will be."
Pure common sense and should be blindingly obvious to the powers that be in US.
But the US is not rational. The USG is not serving the interests of its people nor any of the senior officials keeping oaths of office, quite the contrary. For whatever unfathomable reason they appear bent on bringing the country to its knees ASAP without the people blaming them for it, something enabled by an Intelligence-controlled mainstream media organ.
The whole thing feels insane. Cognitive dissonance is now the norm not the exception. Some think it is all just stupidity. It might be stupor on the part of many but there simply must be a leadership core somewhere directing traffic because all decisions head in the same overall direction (destruction of the Republic), rather than being all over the place, some good, some bad, some helpful, some damaging etc.
So just keeping it simple: the US is intent on suicide right now so what they are doing is trying to effect that end as quickly as possible without the population catching onto them. We don't have to understand exactly why in order to acknowledge that it is so. In which case Ukraine will keep going for as long as possible until the American State ceases to function as such and its suicide mission will have been achieved.
stellar work, b.
Now that 'monkey-pox' is on the rise, it's time to wind down the hot war. Russia 'wins' but Putin/Hitler/Satan/Evil/Russia is the eternal enemy of the 'west.' Meanwhile, a new crisis will take Ukraine's place.
Posted by: gottlieb | May 20 2022 17:11 utc | 3
“DE Nazification” is the word we must all pay attention to; it is what Putin is banking on.
Prove the Nazi links in Ukraine and the public opinion of Ukraine changes.
De-Nazification will be the reason cited by Russia for the annexation of Ukrainian cities.
Why is the American media fighting so hard to hide the Nazi links to Azov?
Why does Zelensky refuses to say the word AZOV!
Here is why… look at the festering nationalism in Ukraine.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTaMdKDuTgw
Posted by: Dean Oneil | May 20 2022 17:13 utc | 4
From voltaire.net on 17th:
"THE WARS OF THE 21ST CENTURY
I would now like to offer you some thoughts that do not commit you to this or that conflict, and even less to this or that side. I will just lift a veil and invite you to look at what it hides. What I am about to say may shock you, but we can only find peace by accepting reality.
Wars are changing. I am not talking about weapons and military strategies, but about the reasons for conflicts, about their human dimension. Just as the transition from industrial capitalism to financial globalization is transforming our societies and pulverizing the principles that organized them, so this evolution is changing wars. The problem is that we are already incapable of adapting our societies to this structural change and therefore even less capable of thinking about the evolution of war.
War always seeks to solve the problems that politics has failed to solve. It does not happen when we are ready for it, but when we have eliminated all other solutions.
This is exactly what is happening today. The US Straussians have inexorably cornered Russia in Ukraine, leaving it no option but to go to war. If the Allies insist on pushing her back, they will provoke a World War."
Thierry is always good: https://www.voltairenet.org/article216896.html
My comment detailing today's Russian Security Council meeting is being blocked even when I remove the URLs. Thus my test @6. I have business to conduct, so I'll attempt to post it later today. Do see the Must Read bioweapon report I posted on the previous thread. Thanks!
Reports now are that the Russians are fighting in Soledar which does cut off another supply road to Severodonetsk. That leaves the road through Siversk as the last remaining supply road to the city. But as stated above the Russians haven’t managed to get there yet.
Posted by: GS | May 20 2022 17:27 utc | 8
LOL For 3 months we have heard Ukraine is winning by the western media/politicians...NOW the same Ukraine beg for a ceaesefire.
It is amazing how disinformed and propagandized the "reality" in the western world are but now the realiy get ahead of them finally, hopefully they learn something from it.
Posted by: Zanon | May 20 2022 17:28 utc | 9
Vomit inducing protest in Latvia right now against Soviet statues using nazi symbols, including swastika, and azov flags.
Posted by: rk | May 20 2022 17:29 utc | 10
Eliminating any and all other political parties, then this business yanking out the rights and leverage of unionized workers. Hmmmm, not looking too good for the commoner. Something tells me that a corrupt landlocked future state is not one that most people are going to want to live in. I also get the sense that NovoRossia will be much better off in terms of opportunity and quality of life.
Posted by: Chevrus | May 20 2022 17:39 utc | 12
The NY Times publishes a Big Lie, "In the end, it is the Ukrainians who must make the hard decisions." No, the opposite is true--all decisions are made in DC and have since 2014. The phone calls are pathetic since they're being made by those who lack the power to initiate negotiation. Blinken, Sullivan and Nuland are the ones killing Ukrainians since they refuse to allow any attempts at peace. And those three believe their own swill.
Seems as though the USA is in full CYA (cover your ass), mode, as Russia moves forward.
Posted by: vetinLA | May 20 2022 17:44 utc | 14
If Ukraine can remain Ukraine, with a system of oblasts very similar to what was predicated by the Minsk proposals, as a federation, with all Russian-oriented areas able to participate fully in the government of same, can that not be perceived by the world at large as a huge win-win? That is, a multipolar Ukraine in a multipolar world. Step back, Poland; and mind your manners, Finland.
Hasn't that been what Russia has wanted all along? Phooey to the New York Times; fortunately they are not the arbiters of history.
Thank you, b. We are at a turning point and I rejoice. bevin @ (I think) 56 in the previous Open Ukraine thread said it all beautifully - thank you, bevin! As Putin has said in the past, it will be Ukrainians who ultimately decide how their country will function in future.
Posted by: juliania | May 20 2022 17:51 utc | 15
I guess US has found alternatives for Ukraine's lost grains
"In fact, Washington, which occupies those Syrian lands, has deliberately in a manual mode been sparking a famine in that once food-sufficient country for a long time. In addition, the US Department of the Treasury’s Syria General License 22 issued on May 12 authorizes henceforth access to the areas of northeast and northwest Syria for third-country private investments, de facto making the theft of Syrian grain from Trans-Euphrates legal for Washington." - Dmitry Polyansky
Posted by: rk | May 20 2022 17:52 utc | 16
At Verdun Falkenhayn determined use 1200 artillery pieces to bleed France and the French obligingly sent men up La Voie Sacree to the meat-grinder where artillery apparently devoured 377,000 French soldiers and 330,000 Germans - the German losses increased once Falkeyan's plan was overturned by the Crown Prince to offensive action..
The point was that France lost on average 893 men daily and 1,100,000 disabled,
300,000 mutilated, 42,000 blinded, 15,000 broken faces and 2,200 KIA daily in 1914 alone.
The French artillery fired more than 330,000,000 shells, this is more than 210 thousand rounds each day.
36% of the soldiers aged between 19 and 22 were killed.
Key factor was that France had fewer men of military age in 1937 than in 1914. The huge manpower losses had not been replaced yet in Germany they had many more men available for the Wehrmacht - and France folded in 1940.
One reason was anti-militarism in Frech schools where widowed and bereaved spinsters were teachers shattered by MIA and KIA impact on their lives.
That is what awaits Ukraine
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | May 20 2022 17:52 utc | 17
The damage is done, covid, war and now that the fable slowly dissolves away their on duty linguist comes with the perfect combination of medieval atavism, smallpox, and jungle wilderness with the monkey part, no respite for the plebs, with more apocalypse horses riding along forecasting hunger and ruin. No winners, that is their game, they want it all or ruin for everybody.
Posted by: Paco | May 20 2022 18:00 utc | 19
b said;"America’s support for Ukraine is a test of its place in the world in the 21st century, and Mr. Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to help define what that will be."
Biden will do, and say, what the U$A's corporate Fascists insist on.
Posted by: vetinLA | May 20 2022 18:00 utc | 20
The Popasnaya / Popasna bulge is about four times as large as your version from UAMaps. There is a better map on this post by Colonel Cassad:
The liberation of the LPR is nearing completionFrom Shoigu's statements on the operation in Ukraine.
1. The liberation of the LPR is nearing completion (a transparent allusion to the Severodonetsk cauldron - yesterday the troops reached the Soledar-Lysichansk highway).
2. Already 1908 people have surrendered at Azovstal. Prior to this, 1387 people from the Marine Corps capitulated (at the plant named after Ilyich).
3. In light of the NATO threat, 12 new formations will be created in the Western Military District (most likely recreated). expected.
4. In the near future, strategic UAVs will begin to enter the troops.
5. The NATO grouping near the borders of the Russian Federation has up to 40,000 people.
6. Losses of Ukraine during the battle for the island of Serpents were - 4 aircraft, 10 helicopters, 30 UAVs, 3 boats and 50 people killed.
Russian sources claim that the LPR forces reached the edge of Soledar yesterday. Soledar is famous for its salt mines, one of which is open for tourists. The mines were also used to store outdated weaponry. The first "heavy" weapons used in Slavyansk in April 2014 came from the mine. Notable was the appearance of WW2 anti-tank rifles. They proved useful against APCs and for blinding main battle tanks.
Vrubovka north of Popasnaya was also liberated. Gorskoe / Hirske to the east is falling into a cauldron. In the south the Ukrainian salient no longer exist. LPR have taken Troitskoe east of Svetlodarsk, and I guess all of LPR territory.
I do not think there are any actual Russian Army troops on the "Popasnaya Flower". Supposedly, the fighting is done by the Lugansk People's Militia, Chechen National Guard troops and something Russians call "Wagner PMC". In Russian usage "Wagner" is a generic term for private military contractors. There is no company named "Wagner".
Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 20 2022 18:06 utc | 21
thanks b! and thank you informed posters!
i think it would be best if Lloyd J. Austin III had a conversation with biden and got him to tell zelensky to cease and desist-> if they really want a ceasefire.)))
i suspect they are full of shit and none of these actors are agreement capable....
as a consequence a lot of innocent or naive ukrainians are going to die or suffer needlessly... i guess that is the way of the west at this point, while getting the msm to maintain of the facade of ''fighting the good fight''.... this is what the ignoramus do... they make sure the war, bank and oil machine is their top priority... ordinary people are apparently supposed to go get [email protected]
Posted by: james | May 20 2022 18:12 utc | 22
The only reason you would celebrate this is if you were exposed to high levels of lead as a child.
Posted by: fsev | May 20 2022 18:12 utc | 23
Does anyone know what happened - and if it happened - that Russia launched a military satellite from their northern launch site and that the satellite was "lost". It came up on my smart phone yesterday as news...
Posted by: fanto | May 20 2022 18:24 utc | 24
re b's quoting the NYT: "....Russia will be feeling the pain of isolation and debilitating economic sanctions for years to come, and Mr. Putin will go down in history as a butcher..."
Nonsense. We should all never forget that the greatest butchers of the 20th Century are the US exceptionalist presidents George W. Bush/Dick Cheney, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joseph Biden..... together having destroyed not one not two but five Arab-Moslem nations, killed 5-6 million people at least, and left well over 36-38 million people as refugees/displaced peoples throughout Northern Africa and across the Middle East..... and now with several million more refugees in Central Europe
all with the avid support and cheer-leading of the despicable NY Times
Posted by: michaelj72 | May 20 2022 18:25 utc | 25
@ Paco | May 20 2022 18:00 utc | 19 who wrote
"
No winners, that is their game, they want it all or ruin for everybody.
"
I agree that they want it all or ruin for everybody and hope they don't go nuclear as poor losers in this civilization war we are in.
People comment here like Ukraine is the end goal for Russia when they have made quite clear that neutering bully empire is their goal. NATO is an existential threat to Russia as is clear by NATO's example and it must be neutered which is why Russia doesn't care who joins.
Let me repeat, humanity is in a civilization war.
It is happening in Ukraine
It is happening in Taiwan
It is happening is Syria
It is happening in Occupied Palestine
It is happening in Yemen
It is happening in Korea
It is happening in Iran/Iraq/Lebanon/ad nauseum
So far, this civilization war is being conducted in a manner that has not resulted in nuclear extinction but the biological shit keeps rearing its head and is an unknown.
And, as I continue to point out, the civilization war is about competing forms of social organization based around who controls finance. Western empire has been in control for the last few hundred years but the China/Russia axis form a existential challenge to the God of Mammon cult based top/bottom class structured society. The China/Russia axis promises a more public oriented social structure which their example seems to show.
I am pleased to see the potential crashing of the Western economic system that hopefully will lead to structural change in the social organization of the West to take control of finance out of the God of Mammon cult hands and reestablish public commons and finance as a public utility instead of a profit center for the rich.
Posted by: psychohistorian | May 20 2022 18:26 utc | 26
Ukrainian "Command Post" goes boom:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/xTDEp43Zt81c/
Found it on Google Maps, It's actually listed as a "Cultural Centre", presumably repurposed, one hopes.
'Closed'... Opens At 8AM Sat'. Maybe not anymore, i guess.
Posted by: Et Tu | May 20 2022 18:28 utc | 27
Meanwhile the capital keeps flowing in to keep the mess stirred...
G7 countries pledge nearly $20 billion in financial aid for Ukraine
Posted by: circumspect | May 20 2022 18:29 utc | 28
"Mr. Biden should also make clear to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will go to confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster."
Lord, what a barefaced lie, for the US just dumped $40 billion yesterday followed today another $110,000 today. Clearly the $ for Ukraine are limitless.
As Paco 19 noted, this is not a one off, this war and the cash drain is happening at the same time as the baby formula scam, the oil reserve scam (now being refilled at top dollar), and now the monkey pox scam. By unrestrained spending they are destroying the dollar as fast as possible. IMO the goal is a severe depression in the US and worldwide if they can get it. It would allow them to set up a mandatory social credit plan requiring registration for access to anything and everything.
Another concern I see is the massive flood of illegals about to flood the border with the last restriction apparently about to be lifted. Could the Dems plan on granting voting rights to all illegials just before the Nov elections?
If not I believe they will declare war on someone, Russia possibly or China, immediately declaring Marshall Law, we have a war on damn it. Remember this is a coup, they will stop at nothing to remain in power and their Masters want the US gone, and gone for good.
Sorry to be so dark on a Friday, I hope to be utterly wrong.
Posted by: Bonami | May 20 2022 18:35 utc | 29
Posted by: Scorpion | May 20 2022 17:16 utc | 5
That's exactly it. The entire strategy of the Straussians is to wreck everyone else such that they cannot challenge your power. Really only Russia and the USA could attempt such a path as it is only these two countries that could continue to operate (in any way resembling a "modern" society) if all the rest of the world were wrecked. Obviously, Russia isn't executing Straussian policies.
If you're a top country that is facing decline due to outside influences and can turn inward to continue to exist, then obliterating all possible external "threats" (to your power) makes sense. Not saying that it's morally proper (obviously could never be the case), just that there's actually a strategic purpose rather than it being about a bunch of crazies running out of control. Sun Tzu said that one must know one's self and one's enemy if it expects to win the majority of its battles (and the war); know only one and you win a battle and lose a battle; know neither and you lose every battle.
One thing that seems never to be noticed anywhere (and only NOW did it dawn on me) is that the US is and has been top dog while NOT winning any real military wars! Russia seems to win all military wars yet it's not top dog: not saying that this won't change, but that's the real scoreboard to-date. One could make the argument that the Straussians DO have a winning strategy. Sometimes the world really IS upside-down...
Posted by: Seer | May 20 2022 18:44 utc | 30
Its pretty obvious the US spokesperson wants to stall for time to refuel, rearm and if possible provide more fighters for Ukraine, If I were Putin I'd snub the plea and carry on and finish the job at hand, any break in the plan will only allow Nato the EU and Ukrainian forces a chance to recoup and redeploy.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 20 2022 18:45 utc | 31
Azovstal completely liberated, according to MoD.
Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | May 20 2022 18:46 utc | 32
Breaking News:
https://www.rt.com/russia/555848-azovstal-surrender-liberated-military/
I wonder if they finally caught the NATO brass holed up there?
Posted by: Alpi | May 20 2022 18:46 utc | 33
Hero of ukraine, commander of Azov, Denis Prokopenko has surrendered. He was hiding in the Azovstal bunker all this time, does that remind you of someone?
https://twitter.com/AZmilitary1/status/1527704258610610177
Posted by: Esa | May 20 2022 18:50 utc | 34
@ Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | May 20 2022 18:46 utc | 33
36th Marine Brigade Commander reporting for War Crime Tribunal + Hard Labour duty:
Posted by: Et Tu | May 20 2022 18:51 utc | 35
From the Saker, it would appear that AFU troops are now totally dispirited on some fronts.
"Even the commanders on the ground themselves are already telling the top military leadership about the lack of heavy equipment and the incompetence of some leaders. So the 3rd battalion of the 115th brigade of the AFU refused (https://t.me/voenacher/18972) to go into battle near Severodonetsk."
Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 20 2022 18:53 utc | 36
It’s easy to be thrown by the excruciating pace of Russia's advance on the Eastern front. However, the big picture is evolving like a slow burn for the West on multiple fronts manifesting at a low frequency, eclipsed for now by the crescendo of Western propaganda that unceasingly flaunts its political, diplomatic and mediatic misdirection.
Serious economic blowback is looming with pain dialing up for the West that is already feeling the pinch. Russia’s SMO is grinding down Ukraine's forces and exacting a psychological and material toll that is difficult to reverse and soon not so easily concealed by expert military spin and media deception. A reshaping of the geopolitical landscape is in play with Putin in the role of reluctant enforcer, hoping for the best outcome, while resiliently adapting to sanctions pushed to the brink, and shrewdly planning for the worst. Necessity is the mother of invention, don't you know?
Oh that my pow'r to saving were confin'd:Why am I forc'd, like Heav'n, against my mind,
To make examples of another kind?
Must I at length the sword of justice draw?
Oh curst effects of necessary law!
How ill my fear they by my mercy scan,
Beware the fury of a patient man.
Law they require, let law then show her face;
-Excerpt from John Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel
Superficially, until now, the strategy appears like two steps forward, one step back; logically, like life’s natural progression. So this dynamic explains the concern expressed by some on the previous two threads.
With Putin you usually have an inconspicuous undercurrent moving in an unequivocal, resolved direction, but on this day the MSM is painting him as an erratic, in-your-face micro manager. If anything he appears present when direction, guidance and correction of the SMO are necessary, while in between he's attending to other business and more like a remote, but relentless presence driving the often puzzling but desired outcome.
As with this past week, we sometimes hit a wall of doubt.: What does Putin want, where is this leading, does he even know or want the result we imagine he wants? I dare anyone to conclusively read his mind. Chinese torture may have its origins in China, but Putin is perfecting its psychology to an art form.
Posted by: Circe | May 20 2022 18:54 utc | 37
With the fall of Azovstahl, Mariupol is formally liberated. Congratulations to all on this historic day.
Posted by: Skiffer | May 20 2022 18:58 utc | 38
Posted by: Et Tu | May 20 2022 18:51 utc
:) He's got the face of a hard laborer. Apparently, he was escorted away in an armoured vehicle from the angry Mariupol citizens waiting for him outside.
Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | May 20 2022 18:59 utc | 39
To get a feeling for the artillery onslaught of the Russians/republican forces in Donbass, here's the latest video from Patrick Lancaster:
Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | May 20 2022 19:01 utc | 40
NYT in essence asserts that Ukraine and Biden need to "get real" before Russia and the LPR and DPR inflict more punishment.
However, NYT then says that "Russia will be feeling the pain of isolation and debilitating economic sanctions for years to come, and Mr. Putin will go down in history as a butcher."
When the West wants to see a "peace deal" but it includes treating Russia as a pariah for years to come, what's Russia's incentive to stop until NovoRossiya is reconstituted and Ukraine becomes a land-locked country, diminished in every way?
Posted by: James Robertson | May 20 2022 19:02 utc | 41
This is my guess as well - the fake news is ratcheting up to cover serious (Ukrainian) battlefield defeats, and a fear that the "forever" war might not be as close to forever as Washington would like. In my May 14 post, I specifically addressed the claims of Russia losing hundreds or thousands of troops in a single bridge crossing:
What a real army would actually use is smoke munitions from a howitzer, like the 155mm M825 round. An initial volley of rounds fired in a linear sheaf or pattern would provide an initial smokescreen, with new volleys fired every 2-8 minutes (depending on the potency of the chemical used, as well as environmental factors like wind and humidity). Obviously you wouldn’t fire them at the same place you’re planning on walking. You would fire them in front of enemy positions. The point is to blind them, not yourself. Do I really have to explain this? If you still don’t believe me, read the relevant chapter from the US Army’s Field Manual 3-6.
Possibly the weirdest part of this fairy tale is why the Ukrainians would use aircraft and artillery at all. If there is an enemy unit grouped up at a bridgehead, a Tochka missile would be the best weapon to use, bunched up enemies in the open is literally what it was intended for. Maybe Ukrainians are so used to blowing up nursery schools and hospitals they forgot it is possible to aim at military targets sometimes.
Full post:
https://readingjunkie.com/2022/05/14/the-15-billion-russian-casualties-and-other-news/
Posted by: Ian Kummer | May 20 2022 19:02 utc | 42
Circe 39; I wholy agree with yr assesment of Putin. He is a very inteligent, rational and stable man. A leader for his people. Trying to do the best to improve the living standards for all Russians in a elaborate way.
Needless to say I appreciate him. :)
Posted by: DutchZ | May 20 2022 19:04 utc | 43
I remember that famous quote (allegedly from Karl Rove) to the effect that "we create reality and you respond to it". there are flaws with this approach as the reality on the ground diverges from the propaganda.
Posted by: pretzelattack | May 20 2022 19:24 utc | 44
Remarkable, b. It's hard for me to understand this NYT editorial board opinion as representing anything other than a serious crack in the edifice. The NYT has played some games the last two weeks or so with guest opinions on both sides of this issue, but now they openly change their position with only the fig leaf cover of claiming Ukraine sovereignty still survives.
Full of juvenile Putin-bashing, but that has become a major shibboleth among the PMC-ers since Mook and Podesta dreamed up the dog-ate-my-homework excuse for Hillary's humiliating defeat and their failure as campaign masterminds. The line about Putin and history would have been framed as "hell awaits him" a hundred years ago. It's a way of covering their loss with a weak karma argument.
There's at least some shrinking of confidence in this, if not a bit of capitulation. And there's a strong whiff of recognition of just how precarious things are right now in the U. S.
Posted by: Henry Moon Pie | May 20 2022 19:29 utc | 46
When Azov surrender began, Berlin based RT journalist Vladimir Sankin wrote the following analysis (use translator from teutonic :) ) https://de.rt.com/meinung/138687-zerbrocken-asow-mythos-leitet-zerfall-zerfall-ukrainischen-staates/ "The crumbling of the Azov myth marks the begin of the decomposition of the ukrainian state". The analysis has a good outline of the different factions of ukrainian Nazidom and their history.
Posted by: aquadraht | May 20 2022 19:30 utc | 47
'In March, the Ukrainian parliament passed wartime legislation that severely curtailed the ability of trade unions to represent their members, introduced ‘suspension of employment’ (meaning employees are not fired, but their work and wages are suspended) and gave employers the right to unilaterally suspend collective agreements.
...
But beyond this temporary measure, a group of Ukrainian MPs and officials are now aiming to further ‘liberalise’ and ‘de-Sovietise’ the country’s labour laws. Under a draft law, people who work in small and medium-sized firms – those which have up to 250 employees – would, in effect, be removed from the country’s existing labour laws and covered by individual contracts negotiated with their employer. More than 70% of the Ukrainian workforce would be affected by this change.'
Almost all of the wars that the Americans have fought against the 'East' since 1992 have been openly anti-Soviet, anti-Communist, anti-Socialist in nature, with the intent of unrolling and unravelling the gains the working class made under the Communist Governments in power since 1948 (or 1917).
The attack on Yugoslavia, the 'colour (counter) revolutions' and now the attack on the Ukraine had/have as their real main aim, the introduction of hard right wing neo-liberalism into the 'East' the disciplining of the working class, and the United States taking upon itself its self-appointed role: to make the world safe for American Capital.
This is why the ultimate goal is China. The Americans could never tolerate a successful state where the politician representatives of the Working Class are in power, let alone one of 1.4 billion people. The coming attack on Russia is simply a means to that end.
Posted by: Hidari | May 20 2022 19:35 utc | 48
The US Air Force has the F35, a fighter plane that is invisible to radar. The F35 is so invisible no-one in Ukraine has seen it.
Posted by: Passerby | May 20 2022 19:36 utc | 49
Soft power is working fine also, at least for Russian speakers, this tune sung by Akim Apachev proves it, singing in Ukrainian so as to reach a crucial audience. Too bad the subtitles are in Russian only, but the tune itself sounds good plus the imagery.
https://t.me/vladlentatarsky/13759
Posted by: Paco | May 20 2022 19:39 utc | 50
Putin & Co. have long been bitterly aware from experience what the word of DC and NATO and the 2014 regime is worth, so one can hardly see any value in even talking to the lying treacherous bloodsuckers.
Posted by: John Kennard | May 20 2022 19:41 utc | 51
Dangers of Newspeak
Posted by: aquadraht | May 20 2022 19:30 utc | 49When Azov surrender began, Berlin based RT journalist Vladimir Sankin wrote the following analysis...
When the Azovstal evacuation began, I wrote the following analysis: There is a danger in Newspeak: Now all Ukrainian units can ask to be "evacuated".
Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 20 2022 19:51 utc | 52
Posted by: fsev | May 20 2022 18:12 utc | 24
Xenophon called with a message: Never. forget. the lead.
"Well, one day, Socrates, I noticed that her face was made up: she had rubbed in white lead in order to look even whiter than she is, and alkanet juice to heighten the rosy colour of her cheeks; and she was wearing boots with thick soles to increase her height. [3] So I said to her, "Tell me, my dear, how should I appear more worthy of your love as a partner in our goods, by disclosing to you our belongings just as they are, without boasting of imaginary possessions or concealing any part of what we have, or by trying to trick you with an exaggerated account, showing you bad money and gilt necklaces and describing clothes that will fade as real purple?"or the miasma
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 19:57 utc | 53
The NY Times publishes a Big Lie, "In the end, it is the Ukrainians who must make the hard decisions.
-----
"No, the opposite is true--all decisions are made in DC and have [been] since 2014."
karlof1 | May 20 2022 17:40 utc | 13
_____
The NYT only feigns ignorance when they lie. Yet another double-meat whopper:
"Russia will be feeling the pain of isolation and debilitating economic sanctions for years to come, and Mr. Putin will go down in history as a butcher."
The NYT seems to share Austin's panicked call for a ceasefire, attempting too late to distance itself from another US defeat, as it lamely tried to do in Afghanistan, stating the obvious only after it couldn't be denied that the Pentagram murdered a family in Kabul
Posted by: Doug Hillman | May 20 2022 20:00 utc | 54
more daily stuff
* RF takes high point <2 miles from Soledar - Lisichansk road, i.e. persuasively cutting off Severodonetsk/Lisichansk from SW supply route -- https://i.ibb.co/syh26qJ/20-04-1.jpg
* DNR announces casualties again, seems to be similar rate in at least last 3 weeks if not longer, ~100kia/~500wia weekly -- https://t.me/ZradaXXII/3476
* another big chunk of RF forces being either added or rotated
* RF to boost deployment of drones per Shoigu, this has been a complaint. VSU to receive $6B of US weapons out of the $40B package (much of which is other categories). Recently announced includes more artillery, and patriot SAM's (of unclear generation, wondering if with operators ???) the fate of which should be interesting and educational.
Posted by: ptb | May 20 2022 20:00 utc | 55
"b" in a post above, stated this-
"...The [U.S. Government] is not serving the interests of its people...." by its continuing support for the war in Ukraine.
That is not a true statement.
By financing the war in the Ukraine, The U.S. Government is serving the will and interest of the people of the U.S.
The vast majority of U.S. citizens want to defeat Putin and the Russians and they want Zelinsky and the Ukrainian people to win.
How do I know?
There are a total of 535 U.S. elected leaders in Washington DC. And they accurately reflect the will and interest of the people they represent.
467 of the 535 elected leaders, 87%, voted to keep funding the war.
Don't kid yourself, the people in the U.S are the ones pushing this war.
That has to change, and when it does, it will alter the course of the war.
Posted by: Johnny Dollar | May 20 2022 20:01 utc | 56
Current events in Ukraine are all highly reminiscent of late eastern front WWII.
You have a drug crazed "leader" issuing irrational and self-destructive military orders; a propaganda mill churning out lies and hopium; a military whose best troops have been decimated (at the very least) and is relying on volkssturm to fill gaps; troop concentrations hopelessly encircled; a trickle of heavy and overly complex weapons to replace massive numbers of heavy weapons destroyed; complete loss of air support; expensive underperforming wunderwaffe like Javelins; and a rapidly failing logistics chain.
Posted by: Trisha | May 20 2022 20:02 utc | 57
https://t.me/s/mod_russia
The territory of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, where the group of Ukrainian militants of the Nazi formation "Azov" was blocked since April 21, has been completely liberated.
◽️The underground structures of the enterprise, where the militants were hiding, came under the full control of the Russian armed forces. In total, since May 16, during the operation, 2,439 Azov Nazis and Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who were blocked on the territory of the plant have laid down their weapons and surrendered.
◽️Today, on May 20, the last group of 531st militants surrendered.
◽️The so-called" commander "of the Nazis "Azov" because of the hatred of Mariupol residents and the desire of the citizens to punish him for numerous atrocities, was taken out of the territory of the plant in a special armored car.
◽️Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the completion of the operation and the complete liberation of the plant and the city of Mariupol from Ukrainian militants.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 20 2022 20:11 utc | 58
https://t.me/s/mod_russia
The territory of the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol, where the group of Ukrainian militants of the Nazi formation "Azov" was blocked since April 21, has been completely liberated.
◽️The underground structures of the enterprise, where the militants were hiding, came under the full control of the Russian armed forces. In total, since May 16, during the operation, 2,439 Azov Nazis and Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who were blocked on the territory of the plant have laid down their weapons and surrendered.
◽️Today, on May 20, the last group of 531st militants surrendered.
◽️The so-called" commander "of the Nazis "Azov" because of the hatred of Mariupol residents and the desire of the citizens to punish him for numerous atrocities, was taken out of the territory of the plant in a special armored car.
◽️Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the completion of the operation and the complete liberation of the plant and the city of Mariupol from Ukrainian militants.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 20 2022 20:11 utc | 59
Thanks b for the sitrep, encouraging news.
*
The Russians are winning in Ukraine, goody, but this is not the only area of contest in a hybrid war.
In parallel, the US has quite a lot of other reasons to want to "stop" the war at this point. What has it gained?- Destruction of most of the old soviet and Russian arms in EU and the corresponding "willingness" to buy new US arms. This will probably be in surplus to the 2% for "NATO". New inroads for "trainers" to take over the military of otherwise more or less independent countries, plus an increased number of US bases on EU soil.
Two "new" members.(Finland and Sweden)
The ruining of EU economies in favour of the US.
German industry hobbled.
The separation of the EU from it's natural supplier of resources.
Gas in sold shiploads, US Oil in whatever floats and wheat wherever it can be stolen from (Syria).
Abroad; New bases in Aden (Yemen), New bases/boots on ground announced in Somalia (Oil and minerals). Pakistan became PakistanUS.
Many other countries being "forced to choose US weapons and airplanes (India etc).
Billions for the boys (including Hunter?) and girls (Pelosi?) and for all the wokers (including Z?)
OK, there are plenty of other outstretched hands.
What do they want to HIDE?
Bioweapons and other warfare threats that could have been found in the MetaBio lab. (Avostal) or other places in Ukraine. It is particularly important to hide their part in germ warfare from the populations at large if there is now a new "Pandemic" by monkey-boy Gates.
The NATO direct influence and possible arrest of high ranking *?* officers from NATO, UK, US and IDF (last one not sure) in Avostal. The Chechens arrested four.
*
There are probably a few other reasons that could be added, but one major one is the keeping of Galicia and Odessa as permanent points for re-introducing terrorists and others into the Russian "near space".
Which reminds me that Nuland is also trying to "annex" E. Syria, that Iraq has NOT got the US out of the neighbourhood. (There are still attacks on the US convoys).
****
I am not sure that Russia would get anything useful out of halting at this point.
If you are winning, then keep at it until you get the results you originally wanted!
*****
I am not sure either that any "halt" would last. What with 10'000 interconnected sanctions and second degree "sanctions". (Fear of running foul of real ones). The latest attempt to extend US "Laws" even to non-US citizens, who are not in the US, for things that did not happen in the US, but who would now be included as part of the reach of "wordwide" US law. We are still at the "Empire" state of thinking in the US.
***
Posted by: Stonebird | May 20 2022 20:12 utc | 60
There are a total of 535 U.S. elected leaders in Washington DC. And they accurately reflect the will and interest of the people they represent.
Posted by: Johnny Dollar | May 20 2022 20:01 utc | 59
What is this you recite: a Nicean Pledge for Amnesiacs?
Shirley, you jest! Please stop it. You're killing me.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 20 2022 20:15 utc | 61
◽️The so-called" commander "of the Nazis "Azov" because of the hatred of Mariupol residents and the desire of the citizens to punish him for numerous atrocities, was taken out of the territory of the plant in a special armored car.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 20 2022 20:11 utc | 61
Hmmm.... probably we'll never find out who else was in that armored car....
He's got the face of a hard laborer.
Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | May 20 2022 18:59 utc | 41
nah. Look at that low brow! In keeping with the tenor of these times of ethno-nationalism, scientific racism, Urheimat and orientalists' origin stories, I must insist. That is a perfect specimen of the neandertal and denisovan allele-bearing Indo-European family.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 20:17 utc | 63
Pepe Escobar, in "Russia Rewrites The Art of Hybrid War" at SCF:
So why would weapons peddler retrofitted as Pentagon head Lloyd “Raytheon” Austin literally beg since late February to have his phone calls answered by Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, only to have his wish finally granted?It’s now confirmed by one of my top intel sources. The call was a direct consequence of panic. The United States Government (USG) by all means wants to scotch the detailed Russian investigation – and accumulation of evidence – on the US bioweapon labs in Ukraine, as I outlined in a previous column.
This phone call happened exactly after an official Russian statement to the UN Security Council on May 13: we will use articles 5 and 6 of the Convention on the Prohibition of Bioweapons to investigate the Pentagon’s biological “experiments” in Ukraine.
...
Shoigu cold see the call coming eons away. Reuters, merely quoting the proverbial “ Pentagon official”, spun that the allegedly one-hour-long call led to nothing. Nonsense. Austin, according to the Americans, demanded a “ ceasefire” – which must have originated a Siberian cat smirk on Shoigu’s face.
So, according to Escobar, it's not primarily the disastrous surrender of 2,000 Azov prisoners at Avostal or the possible NATO remainders there that so terrifies the deep state, but the fact that Russia has irrefutable documentation of US war crimes against Humanity in its bioweapons labs --- the 30 or so in Ukraine plus ~300 worldwide. The origin of Covid-19 as possible biowarfare against China and Iran also risks exposure.
Posted by: Doug Hillman | May 20 2022 20:19 utc | 64
The origin of Covid-19 as possible biowarfare against China and Iran also risks exposure.
Posted by: Doug Hillman | May 20 2022 20:19 utc | 66
Not to mention monkeypox, inexplicably instantiating soon, in a theater near you.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 20 2022 20:23 utc | 65
Telegram has replaced Facebook and Twitter as the primary source of information about Ukraine. Unfortunately posts and channels do not go "viral" on Telegram, as they do on normal social media platforms. It is difficult to find new content and channels. Here is one English language channel I recommend, Z and V, maintained by Tatyana from St. Petersburg. Please subscribe. Here is the latest post with a link for access.
‼️🇷🇺🇺🇦🇺🇸🇬🇧⚡️According to unconfirmed reports, American General Eric Olson, British Lieutenant Colonel John Bailey and four other instructors from NATO countries left the territory of the Azovstal enterprise and surrendered.
Another report said 2,439 people in total have surrendered in Azovstal. This is about 600 more than yesterday.
Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 20 2022 20:24 utc | 66
“…drops of water on a hot plate.” Never heard that one before, but it is a most apt description of the situation.
Re: The NYT’s statement that negotiating to end the war with Russia will not appeasement. Correct, it will be more like surrender. Deal with it, Ukraine, US and NATO.
Posted by: Rob | May 20 2022 20:24 utc | 67
We are still at the "Empire" state of thinking in the US.
***
Stonebird | May 20 2022 20:12 utc | 62
Fat finger; We are still... => They are still....
Posted by: Stonebird | May 20 2022 20:24 utc | 68
reply to Johnny Dollar 59
Well yes and no. For support drops off a cliff as soon as they are asked what if the support leads to war with Russia and also drops off same said cliff when asked what if the support leads to hardship in the US.
Bottom line, people are ignorant of the reality behind this war. Once informed support ends. As for Congress, they don't represent the people, they represent their funding sources the MIC.
Posted by: Bonami | May 20 2022 20:29 utc | 69
Bernal, vol. II: Of great migrations, ingressions and conquests, calques, cognates, transcription and translation errors, homonyms, paronomasia, and neologism
Grauniad | 'Deconflict': buzzword to prevent risk of a US-Russian clash over Syria
"The word 'deconflict' – or worse 'deconfliction' – is being used by US officials to describe attempts to ensure that US and Russian air forces don’t shoot at each other while they conduct overlapping air campaigns over Syria."
BBC | US and Russia to hold 'deconfliction' talks over Syria
"'We agreed on the imperative of... having a military-to-military deconfliction discussion,' Mr Kerry told reporters in the US."
VOX |John Kerry just made a significant and consequential gaffe on Russia and Syria
"The image of Kerry nodding alongside Lavrov, the two of them discussing their efforts to "deconflict" in Syria, lent, however unintentionally, the appearance of an American stamp of legitimacy on Russia's Syria intervention."
Reuters | Kerry says Russia proposes military talks on Syria
"'The Russians proposed ... that we have military-to-military conversation ... to discuss what precisely what will be done to deconflict with respect to any potential risks that might be run and to have a complete and clear understanding as to the road ahead and what the intentions are,' Kerry told reporters."
The Atlantic | An Opening on Syria
"They agreed to further discuss mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) campaign."
...
Zelensk* sez, NEVER FORGET
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 20:31 utc | 70
"That is a perfect specimen of the neandertal and denisovan allele-bearing Indo-European family."
Sublime!
Posted by: Merkin Scot | May 20 2022 20:31 utc | 71
Another song about Azovstal, more popsy but not bad, "Call sign String" about a fighter with a red backpack.
Posted by: Paco | May 20 2022 20:42 utc | 72
How the looting of Syria is allowed to continue is beyond me. Where is the UN in all this?! Syria is a sovereign country. The West stealing Syrian oil and food is unacceptable.
Maybe Syria should drop locust on those agricultural lands so that at least there is nothing more to steal.
And Russia should send a couple of hypersonic missiles to destroy the American oil installations and the port, at the request of the legitimate Syrian government.
Posted by: Nico | May 20 2022 20:43 utc | 73
What do you make of Scott ritters latest assessment that Russia will lose if they don’t mobilize their entire army. And even then maybe still won’t?
Posted by: Cnote | May 20 2022 20:44 utc | 74
My hope is that Russia picks up steam after playing soft in the Donbass. Time is not on their side and the West is perfectly fine using Ukrainian men as attrition pieces.
Posted by: Prometheus | May 20 2022 20:45 utc | 75
I just ran across this in an earlier thread.
It was posted by Scorpion:
"Since 2006, the Holodomor has been recognized by Ukraine[29] alongside 15 other countries, as a genocide against the Ukrainian people carried out by the Soviet regime.[30]"
Any discussion of modern Ukraine has to be within the context of actual history.
The Holodomor was a Nazi propaganda myth from day one. It was refined by the vast anti-communist cold war industry maintained by NATO and its anglophone members. It has been refuted one many grounds on many occasions.
There is no evidence that the famines in the early years of collectivisation were either deliberate or aimed at particular ethnic populations. In fact Ukraine was far from being worst affected by the famines- which cannot be understood outside of the context of western economic sanctions and trade boycotts designed to weaken and sabotage the Soviet economy.
The famines did kill many people in the Soviet Union. This greatly weakened not only the surviving population but society as a whole already scarred by losses in the wars and previous sanction induced economic struggles.
It is true that many people, largely emigres, have been brought up on the Holodomor myth, to hate Russians and communism. And that is why, Scorpion, the nonsense of its 'recognition' is dated 2006. That was during the Presidency of the CIA sponsored, Canadian supported Yuschenko regime, one of the premonitions of Maidan.
Please let us hear no more about "The Holodomor".
Posted by: bevin | May 20 2022 20:49 utc | 76
Banderites in Canada
https://snippits-and-slappits.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Alberto | May 20 2022 20:50 utc | 77
" If you all out there do one thing please make sure your state does not let illegal immigrants get drivers license and register to vote. It will be the end of your state like CA is now hopelessly lost . The Democrat party is controlled by Zionist WEF."
Posted by: Obamavirus | May 20 2022 19:11 utc | 45
Cool, I'LL bet more states wish they were as "hopelessly lost" as California.
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/ranking-the-united-states-of-america-from-best-to-worst
Posted by: vetinLA | May 20 2022 20:51 utc | 78
Russia has irrefutable documentation
Posted by: Doug Hillman | May 20 2022 20:19 utc | 66
I note with interest anecdotal power of compassion, employed to collect material witnesses and evidence from a UAF POW assigned to his captor's work detail. Here, there, one by one, Zelensk* orphans guilessly confessing guilt by directing a sapper to mines (and undoubtedly other traps and sabotages) laid by his compatriots on the way out of town.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 20:52 utc | 79
@51 Passerby, not strictly true. Any number of Russian military
radar operators in Ukraine will have seen F-35s, probably keeping a tad out of Ukranian airspace though.😉
Posted by: Phil Espin | May 20 2022 20:52 utc | 80
Petri Krohn | May 20 2022 20:24 utc | 68 "'Another report' said 2,439 people in total have surrendered in Azovstal."
Official Russian MoD as per my copy and paste from MoD telegram account @61
Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 20 2022 20:54 utc | 81
Russia will reach its goals in Ukraine in 6 months, 1 year, 2 years… ..
Is this enough ??
No. Russia's TRUE and RIGHT objective is: "…… the return of the bloc’s military capabilities and infrastructure in Europe to where they were in 1997, when the NATO-Russia Founding Act was signed. "
I don't understand (no one talks about it) by what means does Russia think it can bring NATO back to the situation of 97....
It seems clear to me that, for the US & UK, only the “law of the strongest” applies and certainly not the principles and Treaties that already exist (indivisible security).
I see only one way to make NATO go backwards: having something in return to give ... ... for example, it could recreate, with reversed parts, the same situation as in 62.
Cuba and Nicaragua (and Venezuela) could be useful for the purpose ...
They are "friendly" countries, they do not condemn "aggression" against Ukraine, they abstained from the UN; especially Cuba has long-standing historical ties with Russia, recently Russia has also postponed the payment of a debt to 2027… ..
Why doesn't Russia set up some military bases in these countries and fill them with missiles?
Perhaps now it is late, perhaps they have tried in vain, perhaps they do not want to put "friendly" peoples at risk .......
But these countries should understand that, without Russian protection, they would be wiped out in an instant…. so they have to take risks.
Should it be Lavrov's main job …… "mission impossible" ??
Posted by: FZappa | May 20 2022 20:54 utc | 82
That has to change, and when it does, it will alter the course of the war.
Posted by: Johnny Dollar | May 20 2022 20:01 utc | 59
Excuse me. Haven't you heard? US Americans are helpless. THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN (according to oft repeated, never cited Gilens and Page) the people who habituate states' and federal legislatures do not express the will of The People. No one knows who elected them over, and over, and over ...
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 20:59 utc | 83
I wonder if they finally caught the NATO brass holed up there?
Posted by: Alpi | May 20 2022 18:46 utc | 34
Keep wondering. That deposition will not be televised to western civilization.
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 21:02 utc | 84
Posted by: Johnny Dollar | May 20 2022 20:01 utc | 59
"There are a total of 535 U.S. elected leaders in Washington DC. And they accurately reflect the will and interest of the people they represent.
467 of the 535 elected leaders, 87%, voted to keep funding the war.
Don't kid yourself, the people in the U.S are the ones pushing this war.
That has to change, and when it does, it will alter the course of the war."
Two things:
1) The most recent poll that I have seen stated that 50 percent of the US population support the war against Russia, and half do not.
2) According to the well-received and -respected Princeton study, the so-called elected "leaders" pay no attention whatsoever to the wants and wishes of the people, but represent only the interests of the billionaire class. It's those billionaire war mongers, lusting after those war profits, who support any war, any time, any where.
Posted by: AntiSpin | May 20 2022 21:05 utc | 85
@Obamavirus (45) Please provide a link to the “ PSA” in which Barrack Obama allegedly encouraged “illegals” to vote. We’ll all be waiting with baited breath. Demented troll.
Posted by: Rob | May 20 2022 21:05 utc | 86
I don't know what Russia' exit strategy is, if they have one at all. I am not so sure since I read today that it will take Russia decades to denazify Ukraine, which suggests they might be staying in the long term.
I think people also forget the Ukrainian population. Russia has displayed very good behavior, and unlike in the West, normal people in Ukraine know it by now. At the same time a lot of Ukrainians have suffered at the hands of their Nazis and government.
So, they might actually switch to Russia's side, especially if the Russian territories in the east blossom. They are already replacing the Ukrainian currency with the ruble, replacing the Ukrainian internet with the Russian one, etc.
Another aspect is the regime itself. If Russia removes Selensky and his inner circle, the whole regime will kind of collapse and lose its "star".
The whole isolation talk is also bull. It is only the West that has sanctioned Russia, but 85% of the world population continues to do trade with Russia, almost defying the West. Don't forget that most people on this planet can't stand the US.
Posted by: Nico | May 20 2022 21:06 utc | 87
Tulane U. "Turd Blossom" Trivia
New York Times Magazine on October 17, 2004, by the writer Ron Suskind, who recounts his discussion with the proverbial “unnamed Administration official,”as follows:The aide said that guys like me were “in what we call the reality-based community,”which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.”I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. “That’s not the way the world really works anymore,”he continued. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 21:09 utc | 88
It is true that many people, largely emigres, have been brought up on the Holodomor myth, to hate Russians and communism. And that is why, Scorpion, the nonsense of its 'recognition' is dated 2006. That was during the Presidency of the CIA sponsored, Canadian supported Yuschenko regime, one of the premonitions of Maidan.
Please let us hear no more about "The Holodomor".
Posted by: bevin | May 20 2022 20:49 utc | 78
You seem to be arguing that it never happened or some such. I was just offering it as a possible explanation for why there wasn't as much support for Russian operation among the local population. Whether or not it's true, if 15 countries recognized it as a genocide the story clearly has resonated with many, no? Also, Wikipedia is a super PC controlled source so, again, clearly the story has traction among many whether or not you think it justified.
Actually, I suspect the current regime makes it very hard for many of its own population to voice support of regime change and that might have more to do with lack of support.
But (obviously) don't know either way and personally have no opinion about the Holodomor having never read about it at length for it's not a story that has much resonance or influence in the West.
Wouldn't that be the Russians are retaking Propasna? As I've related in previous posts, Putin as well as the western American and European leaders are all adherehts to the agenda of the World Economic Fourm, the East Eurpoean leaders not so much. This war was 'supposed' to go badly and the darling Putin was supposed to strike down those horrible westerners... that's why the calls, the darn East europeans aren't playing by the script - and the Davos boys and girls are peeing their panties on all sides.
This may be a dumb question or one that's already been answered, but why would Russia trust a US-brokered ceasefire and what's to stop Uncle Scam and FUKNATO from using a pause in shooting to sneak or otherwise flood Ukraine with more weapons from the west? Then of course, once those "new" weapons are in place, suddenly find the Russians "in violation" of the ceasefire and resume hostilities?
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 20 2022 21:14 utc | 91
The Holodomor has *only* been recognized as a genocide by a little over a dozen countries; among them the usual suspects and long-term anti-communists. That's because in reality it was a combination of bad science, too much trust put in said "science" and bureaucratic obstacles. There may have been a small amount of passive aggressive intent baked in, but nothing near the *actual* genocide HERE that nobody in the West is allowed to refer to as such because it involves the British capitalist class.
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 20 2022 21:22 utc | 92
—judiciously, as you will—
Posted by: sln2002 | May 20 2022 21:09 utc | 90
Not to start this again, but someone messed up the formatting on the first page of this thread anyhow, so what the heck...
Aesthetic semantic semiotics, or something...
That "judiciously" phrase rings so very Cheney to me (not at all Rove).
Suskind never said who the "aide" was.
He may have used "aide" to deliberately deflect accurate attribution from the Veep.
We may never know for sure; that quote is the literary tomb of the unknown imperialist.
Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 20 2022 21:24 utc | 93
"The Popasnaya / Popasna bulge is about four times as large as your version from UAMaps...."
Posted by: Petri Krohn | May 20 2022 18:06 utc | 21
***
There has already been a bit of discussion about how Operation Z today compares and does not compare with the Indochina War 50 years ago. All this noted, been having a sense today that the Popasnaya "flower" is feeling a lot like the breakout at Pleiku in March 1975.
We'll see if this collapses the Kiev regime as fast...
Posted by: Vintage Red | May 20 2022 21:24 utc | 94
Milley and Austin called to ask Russians to be gentle to their military brass, especially the general. Maybe they were testing the terrain to see would Russians consider taking their 300 Bn back....after all it is theirs.
Posted by: Milos | May 20 2022 21:26 utc | 95
92
Putin is not pro-WEF, to the contrary, like China Russia is against the whole Soros/Schwab scum gang.
Posted by: Nico | May 20 2022 21:28 utc | 96
Posted by: Obamavirus | May 20 2022 21:18 utc | 94
And I can make assertions such as that the sky is purple which will be met with equal ridicule unless I can provide, at the same time or in defense of my assertion, legitimate evidence for its truth.
That you seem to be scared to provide even a single link to this assertion - one of many about Obomber that are long debunked* except in fringe nutcase environments - tells us a lot about your (lack of) confidence in this alleged information.
* There *are* plenty of accurate assertions of the illegal and immoral shit perpetrated by the Obama administration, but the nutcases Like Dinesh D'Sousa pushing the other easily-debunked ones never seem to get around to those. Hmmm...
Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 20 2022 21:29 utc | 97
So there's a Holodomor Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine. https://holodomortour.ca/educational-hub/resources-and-archival-material/
And a survivors testimony site: http://www.sharethestory.ca/
And a video with contributions from many different historians: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYG7fKe4JHA
People were starving which bevin says was just a general condition but they were also not allowed to leave their districts, go to cities, leave the country etc. so at the very least the management of the population during the famine raises many questions. But again, I never read about it. I did read some accounts of atrocities in Russia following the Bolshevik revolution wherein millions were brutally murdered. So as I said in that last thread, there is a lot of blood on the walls over there.
That of course doesn't mean to imply there isn't blood on the walls elsewhere but still, clearly it's a living story still. I imagine that living Ukrainians who feel that Russians today and Communist regime Russians are essentially the same might not welcome Russians overmuch whereas those who feel otherwise might feel differently. And obviously part of the population are Russian-speakers and part are not. A complex region.
I don't think Putin is interested in a ceasefire.
It is Ukraine that needs a ceasefire urgently.
As long as there is none, Russia is free to further decimate the Ukrainian army.
Sooner rather than later there might simply be hardly anyone left to operate all those Western arms that might find their way to the front.
Posted by: Nico | May 20 2022 21:32 utc | 99
Nico @89--
Yes, Russia will be present within the current Ukrainian borders for several generations since it takes that long to denazify. Ukraine's current borders are also likely to be altered, but it's too early to tell how specifically. Solving Ukraine is merely the first of several steps/phases that will secure Russia's security; and if the Europeans ever wise-up, Europe's as well for that's the UN Charter's vision that the OSCE tried to implement but was undermined from within. But what's happening in Europe is a microcosm of the Big Picture psychohistorian, myself and others write about--it's about what Putin declared on April 12th (a very auspicious date): the smashing of the Outlaw US Empire's hegemony and formation of the Multipolar World. When you clear the dust away and examine the deep history, what's occurring is closing the Epilog to WW2. Yes, that seems odd, but it's the historical reality that's been obfuscated since April 12, 1945 when the final defeat of Fascism was delayed until our time.
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It's not all bad news. The Eurovision Song Contest had a First and Second for the Not Zees and Engerland.
Posted by: Merkin Scot | May 20 2022 16:56 utc | 1