Ukraine - The Bear Caught The Kraken By Using This Trick
This is the map that shows the historic development of Ukraine.
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Russia is, in my opinion, aiming at taking the pink and yellow parts which have predominantly Russian speaking populations. The most north- western pink oblast is Kharkov which is also the name of the oblast's main city.
On March 1 the city was already under attack.
Source: LiveUAmap - bigger
There were a number of artillery impacts (red dots) on military targets in and around the city.
But the situation soon stagnated. The current mayor or Kharkov Igor Terekhov was on the side of the Zelenski regime. The rowdy soccer fans of the city's main club had formed the original Azov regiment. A militia group that split from them at the start of the war were the Kraken:
The Kraken unit was formed by Azov Battalion veterans on the day Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, a military spokesman said. That makes the Krakens something like a kid brother to the older Azov unit, whose fighters achieved world renown status last month for their epic last stand inside Azovstal, a sprawling steel complex in the port city of Mariupol.Like the Azov fighters, whose name comes from the Sea of Azov, the regiment's name and insignia evoke a different maritime theme: the kraken, a mythical sea monster resembling a giant squid.
Their commander is Konstantin V. Nemichev, a political and military figure in Kharkiv. The son of a schoolteacher and an electrician, Nemichev, 26, launched a political career in the right-wing National Corps party before he graduated from college, including an unsuccessful bid last year to become Kharkiv's mayor. He drew heavily on the support of rowdy young soccer fans, many of whom now serve in his unit.
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The Kraken unit operates somewhat in a gray zone — a force that answers to the Defense Ministry but is not part of Ukraine's armed forces. Soldiers in Ruska Lozova say the unit has about 1,800 soldiers. The military spokesman declined to say how many serve in the unit.
The Kraken follow, like Azov, a fascist ideology. The mayor and the Kraken units had prepared for fighting within and around the city. They had fortified areas and took positions in houses that faced the Russian lines.
The Russian attackers did not want to destroy the city and its Russian inhabitants. They never were ordered to launch an all out attack. Over several months the positions on either side hardly changed. This is the map of the situation on May 1.
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The western side of the map the Russian held territory had been given up after the move on Kiev had been reversed. On the eastern side they had gained the area around Iizum. But the fighting around Kharkov had continued for more than two months with nearly unchanged lines.
Then something curious happened. In an orderly move the Russian forces around Kharkov began to pull back. Here are the positions on May 15.
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The Ukrainian military and the Kraken felt victorious. They had 'defeated' the enemy. They left their prepared positions in and around the city to pursued the Russian forces which continued to move back. They did not smell the trap.
Here is the situation on May 31.
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The defenders of Kharkov were now in small towns or the open country side. Since the end of May the map showed few changes but daily heavy bombardment of Ukrainian units.
On June 5 Stars & Stripes reported:
The Kraken unit — which in recent weeks has helped take back villages north of Kharkiv — filled its ranks with "gym rats," bouncers and "ultras," the professional soccer fans who sometimes showed their love for Kharkiv's Metalist team with riotous behavior.
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But their unit also draws veterans from the regular army, battle-tested paramilitary fighters from Donbas and other volunteers who range in age from 25 to 60.
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By the time the Kraken unit liberated this suburban village of about 5,000 people at the end of April, many had fled. Maleev estimated Tuesday that only 200 or so remained in what amounted to a newly liberated ghost town. Few here even stepped outside as Ukrainian and Russian forces continued to trade mortar fire.Much of the village has also been damaged or destroyed, including the Church of St. Nicholas, the village council building and a small hospital. Elsewhere, a tidy row of beehives stood in a field near houses whose heavy wooden roof beams had been snapped and charred.
The report mentioned that there were several Russian drones in the air above the unit. The soldiers hide from them. It is not the only one that has been drawn out of Kharkov city and received such treatment.
Since the end of May Russian artillery as well as aerial bombing has been raining down on them day by day. It achieved the desired results. The Ukrainian militia had significant losses.
On June 26 the Russian Defense Ministry mentioned the Kraken in its daily report:
Attack launched by Russian artillery near Pitomnik (Kharkov region) has resulted in the elimination of up to 100 militants from Kraken Nazi group and about 10 units of combat equipment. Commanders of the militants have decided to abandon the positions and to withdraw the rest of this unit to Kharkov.
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High-precision attacks launched by Russian Aerospace Forces have resulted in the elimination of 4 command posts, including those of Kharkov-1 and Kharkov-2 Territorial Defence battalions near Kharkov, as well as a training base of mercenaries deployed near Nikolayev.
Some 100 dead and four command post on one day is quite a bit. But those were not the only attacks that day and the campaign ran for over 30 days. President Putin's order to 'demilitarize' and 'denazify' the Ukraine gets executed well.
Here is the situation on June 30.
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After a full month of such artillery preparations, which heavily diminished the units that originally had been protecting Kharkov, the Russians are again on the move.
The person who runs the excellent Military Summary And Analysis channel reported today (vid) that today several towns on the Kharkov frontline had been retaken by the Russians. (That is not yet reflected in the pro-Ukrainian LiveUAmap we both are using here.) He painted arrows on the map that show the future Russian movements he anticipates to happen.
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It is another pincer move on Kharkov. A third arrow could probably be pointed from the Izium area southeast of Kharkov which the Russians have under their control.
The Russian trick to catch the kraken has worked. For more than two month they had been trying to take Kharkov without destroying it. The fortified positions in and around the city had made that impossible.
The controlled move back to the border area drew the defenders of Kharkov out into open fields where the Russian artillery then had a full month time to hunt them down. Now, as the enemy has been decimated, the Russian move towards Kharkov can be renewed.
Posted by b on July 1, 2022 at 17:04 UTC | Permalink
next page »A multi-month, operating-theatre-sized feint? Damn they’re good.
Posted by: Hickory | Jul 1 2022 17:15 utc | 2
I get a good laugh from these Ukrainiams. When your filled with overwhelming hate, sooner or later the hate will boomerang and cut you down.
Posted by: Jose Garcia | Jul 1 2022 17:30 utc | 3
Thanks for the reporting b
It certainly reads like good Russian strategy and bad Ukraine/NATO thinking.
This efforts supports the denazification of Ukraine but what will it take to neuter NATO?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 1 2022 17:32 utc | 4
Watching the Russian army fight is like watching a master carpenter build a desk.
Half the time, what he is doing makes no sense ("why is he taking so long picking out the wood, just put it together already!") until near the final stages when everyone can recognize the finished work.
Posted by: Tom E. Weiss | Jul 1 2022 17:33 utc | 5
Also some UAF units have been moved from Kharkiv to Donetsk and Luhansk to plug the faltering lines there. Definitely a factor here. What will they potentially denude next to prevent a Russian advance right up to and around Kharkiv?
Posted by: Cesare | Jul 1 2022 17:38 utc | 6
A move to neutralize the Kharkov based VSU forces, while saving Slavyansk etc for later, would certainly be an unexpected turn of events! Guess we'll see.
Other news: The Finland/Sweden-vs-Turkey NATO drama goes on a bit longer, as Finland and Sweden clarify that they are not about to extradite their citizens for allegedly having agitated for Kurdish independence from Turkey. How soon they cave? Double irony if they do, since Turkey has threatened, attacked, and occupied land and marine resources of several NATO members, with NATO doing nothing. Sweden and Finland seem to be getting these benefits ahead of schedule...
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/erdogan-says-turkey-can-still-block-sweden-finlands-nato-bids
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 17:38 utc | 7
Yuri Podolyaka website
Yuri is a pro Russian Ukrainian commentator (with an accent that reminds me of my Grandad who originally came from near Kharkov) - he has been chased off you tube but has now set up his own site where he also posts videos from another pro Russian commentator, Mikhail Onofrienko
The site is here - https://podolyaka.su/ - Russian Language only
Posted by: Aslangeo | Jul 1 2022 17:44 utc | 10
It makes sense to have the strategic depth of a wide "buffer zone" extended around the Donbass area, perhaps following the contours of a river or two.
Some kind of DMZ is essential long term though how that would look & who would police it is way beyond my limited comprehension.
Posted by: Fake Believe | Jul 1 2022 17:48 utc | 11
The map showing the evolution of Ukraine is wrong. Budjak, the area on the Black Sea coast that is like an appendix in western Ukraine was part of Republic of Moldavia (Bassarabia), when it was taken from Romania in 1940 and again in 1945. I think Budjak was moved to Ukraine in 1954, same time as Crimea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budjak
Posted by: Kouros | Jul 1 2022 17:50 utc | 12
Re Kouros | Jul 1 2022 17:50 utc | 12
BUdjak, a former part of the Russian empire , as you say it was annexed from Romania in 1940 , however this part was given to the Ukrainian SSR in 1940 and was never a part of the Moldovan SSR.
The population of this area includes substantial minorities of Moldovans, Bulgarians, Russians and Gagauz (a Christian Turkish speaking people), only 248,000 of the region's 617,200 people (40%) identify as Ukrainian - most of the area is Russian speaking
Posted by: Aslangeo | Jul 1 2022 18:01 utc | 13
The historical map at the beginning is wrong.
Three of the westernmost lime-green coloured provinces, viz. Wolyn, Rowne and Tarnopol, should be coloured olive as they were not added until after 1945.
Posted by: John Marks | Jul 1 2022 18:02 utc | 14
As the military summary site has stated, once the Russians close the Donbass salient their front line will be much shorter. In addition, there will be a significant reduction of the remaining well trained Ukrainian military forces. With a shorter front line, the Russians can stabilize the Donbass front and move units to the Kharkiv front for the new offensive B describes. The Ukies also previously moved a lot of troops from Kharkiv to the Donbass in a vain attempt to halt the Russian offensive, so the Kharkiv front is a lot weaker through both combat losses and troop relocations.
Another possibility is that the geography west of the Donbass salient is flat agricultural land, with no large conurbations until close to the Dnieper, perfect for a combined forces thrust to the Dnieper which would trap the Ukie forces east of the river and south of the thrust (even more if combined with a thrust from the south along the Dnieper West Bank). That would fit a fast-slow-fast style of battle plan. It may be that Russia wants to grind the war out in the lowest risk way as possible, which would support a Kharkiv offensive.
I think it would be a great mistake for the Russians to stop at the territories added in 1922 and the 1654 Ukraine. They should at least drive to the Dnieper in the north as well, a natural border and defensive position. If Poland then takes Lviv etc., then the rump Ukrainian state will be a true rump. Poland (and Hungary) may swallow the rest, but that may turn out to be a nightmare for the Poles. I still don't discount the Russians slowly taking the whole of Ukraine (perhaps leaving Lviv for the Poles), dragging the West's agony out as long as possible. It will take time to fully destroy the Western hubris, turn the Western industrialists and financiers against the war due to the economic damage, and get the Western peoples to take action. A Republican landslide in November would aid such a position.
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81-01043R002300220007-1.pdf
One more time. There was no Ukraine in 1654. No one in the yellow area on that map thought of themselves as Ukrainian or had ever heard of Ukraine. There is absolute zero historical continuity between the Zaporhizian Cossack Host and any future version of Ukraine. None. That yellow patch did not expand.It went away. Bye bye. And would later be incorporated into the Russian Empire. And was never independently Ukraine until 1991.
Yes, CIA does crap history and the author of the above transparently has unconcealed interests. All written history is like that. Standing to the right of the CIA is not a good look.
Posted by: oldhippie | Jul 1 2022 18:10 utc | 16
@Posted by: Roger | Jul 1 2022 18:07 utc | 15
The Russians have also only used at the most a quarter of their military forces in Ukraine, so that they could utilize some reserves for Kharkiv while continuing the offensive on other fronts - creating a huge problem for the Ukrainian forces and possibly leading to an overall collapse. With the weakness of the Ukie forces around Kharkiv, and the impossibility of reassigning troops from other fronts, things could move very fast.
Gazprom has unexpectedly cancelled dividend payments this year. Russian economists believe that the move signals preparations for a complete cancellation of gas sales to Europe.
Posted by: Skiffers | Jul 1 2022 18:26 utc | 18
As Martyanov says, amateurs versus professionals, plus an added dose of believing your own propaganda. In essence, friendly fire killed the Kraken. And as I continue to write, Russia's in no hurry and aims to preserve as much of its troops and limit civilian casualties and infrastructure damage.
Everyday Russia, China and the Global South get stronger while the Outlaw US Empiere and its vassals get weaker. Yesterday Lavrov met with his Belarus counterpart and President Lukashenko and pressers followed. The transcripts are both available in English. The first, Lavrov’s comment for the Belarusian media following talks with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, followed a review of the current situation and summation of his talks with Lukashenko and shows that neither Russia or Belarus are in any hurry to solve their issues with the West:
Question: During the meeting, you said that building a European security model would be impossible without Belarus and Russia. Is the West beginning to wake up to this fact? Will they be ready to engage in equal dialogue one day?Sergey Lavrov: In this context, some reasonable voices have been piercing the Russophobic chorus, with calls to keep in mind that one day they will have to resume dialogue and cooperation. We are ready and we never avoid any contacts. However, we know what the obligations the West assumes are worth, considering the bitter experience with all the lies we have witnessed over the past 30 years, related to European security. We are always open to dialogue. So let us hear what the West has to offer.
This position was reiterated at the second presser. Here's a segment of Lavrov's statement prior to the Q&A:
We are seriously concerned about NATO’s activities in close vicinity to our borders, primarily in the Baltic states and Poland. We share the opinion that these activities are openly confrontational and tend to lead to more tensions, as well as the division of the European security and cooperation space, that is, they are producing the results which the establishment of the OSCE was supposed to help prevent. Now they are dismantling all this with their own hands, waiving, among other things, the principle of indivisible security, which was publicly declared at the highest level in the OSCE in the late 1990s and in 2010, when it was said that no country should enhance its security at the expense of others. The West’s actions have buried this principle.In the light of the manifestly unfriendly steps taken by the United States and its satellites towards our countries, we reaffirmed that we are firmly determined to further preclude any attempts by the West to interfere in our domestic affairs. We agreed to continue to join efforts to oppose illegitimate unilateral actions by Washington, Brussels and their allies in the international arena.
IMO, this was the most important of the Q&As:
Question: Will it be possible to restore more or less acceptable political and diplomatic relations with EU countries in the future? Will there be another Iron Curtain? Do we have a bloc like NATO or the EU?Sergey Lavrov (adding after Vladimir Makei): I agree with almost all of that. As for our relations with the EU, Russia has not had them since 2014. Brussels swallowed the humiliating move by the opposition forces which perpetrated a coup in Ukraine in defiance of EU guarantees. In response, the Crimea residents refused to live in a neo-Nazi state. Ukraine’s eastern regions did the same, and the European Union failed to muster enough courage to talk sense into the putschists who carried out an illegal power grab, and in fact began to support them in their attack, including physical, on the people of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. When the referendum took place in Crimea and the DPR and the LPR were proclaimed, the European Union, instead of pushing for compliance with the agreements between President Yanukovych and the opposition it had co-sponsored, sided with the ultranationalist and deep down neo-Nazi regime which proclaimed fighting the Russian language and culture as its goal. In the years that followed, the regimes led by Poroshenko and Zelensky proved Kiev’s loyalty to this particular course.
In 2014, when it all happened, the EU, feeling powerless and aware of its own inability to enforce implementation of its own proposals, said the Russian Federation was to blame. It imposed sanctions on our country and cancelled the Russia-EU summit planned for June 2014, destroyed every other mechanism that it took us decades to create, such as biannual summits, annual meetings between the Russian Government and the European Commission, four common spaces that underlay four road maps, 20 sector-specific dialogues, including a dialogue on visa-free travel and much more. All of that was ruined overnight. Relations have been non-existent since then. There were occasional technical contacts, but nothing major. No wonder there are no relations now, but we never close ourselves off. From now on, we will never trust the Americans or the EU. We are doing our best not to depend on them in the sectors that are critically important for survival of the state, the people and our security. When and if they get over their obsession and come back with some kind of a proposal, we will see what exactly it is about. We will not play along with their self-serving plans. If it comes to resuming the dialogue, we will push for a level playing field for everyone and a focus on balancing the interests of all participants on an equal footing.
With regard to the Iron Curtain, it is already on its way down. They should make sure they don’t get anything caught in it as it goes down. In all other matters, we have a straightforward position: we are for things being fair.
In 2014, our “partners” refused to hold a summit amid serious events, including a coup, a referendum in Crimea, and a radical change in the situation in the Black Sea region. If you were serious about searching for solutions, this meeting was the way forward. It could have been used to have a candid discussion about the complaints and the counter questions the partners in the Russian Federation had for the EU. The withdrawal from all contacts that took place after March 2014 only goes to show that the EU is not interested in a dialogue, and does not want to understand our interests or listen to what we have to say. What it wants is for everyone to agree with the Brussels’ decisions which are a carbon copy of the decisions made in Washington. We have been able to see that in recent years. [My Emphasis]
And so, it ought to be easy to see why Russia's in no hurry as it wants to make the force of events and reality cure Europeans politicos of "their obsession" that will in turn free them from their bondage to the Outlaw US Empire. It's been eight years already, but Russia will wait eight more if that's what's required. By then several fait accomplis will have occurred altering the previous status quo. IMO, it won't be another eight years given the economic impact of the illegal sanctions on Europe. I give it two years.
As a lot of people pointed out already: Russian goal isn't to take ground but to kill nazis and military. It is preferable to do it in open ground, with them defending pointless lines in crop trenches that are bombed day after day, than to fight street by street in bigh cities filled with human shields.
After sufficient number of nazis is killed, Russian/LDR forces will start maneuvering and walk in where they want to.
Posted by: Abe | Jul 1 2022 18:31 utc | 20
Yeah, two years sounds about right for the clowns in the EU to come to terms with reality. But I wont be surprised if it takes longer. The neo-con oligarchy are well imbedded in Brussels, and some degree of popular discontent on the streets may be required. Unfortunately the masses seem to be well brainwashed, and it may need more than two or three gas-less winters to goad them into action.
Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | Jul 1 2022 18:42 utc | 21
the poster Aurelien left a link to an article they wrote a week ago..or was it b that left the link? i finally got round to reading it and thought it was quite good... thanks aurelien.. here it is again..
After the Cavalry Didn't Charge
Posted by: james | Jul 1 2022 19:08 utc | 22
What little comment I've read about Putin's presser in Turkmenistan focused on his humorous response to BoJo and refuting his remark about women not starting wars. However, there are more pertinent Q&As that were ignored:
Question: The NATO summit has begun with the war-mongering rhetoric. Russia has been declared a “direct threat” to the security of the Alliance. Stoltenberg admitted that NATO had been rearing for confrontation with Russia since 2014. The Prime Minister of Belgium said that Ukraine must win and that it must do this on the battlefront, which has allegedly been coordinated with the Ukrainian authorities.How would you assess these statements? And how should we regard them?
Vladimir Putin: We should regard it as a fact. As regards their preparations for some actions against us since 2014, this information is not new to us. It explains our decisive actions to protect our interests. They have long been looking for an external enemy, for a threat that would rally their allies. I am referring above all to the United States.
Iran is not quite right for that role. Russia is much better. They see us as a chance to rally their allies in a new historical period. There is nothing new in this for us. This is fresh proof of what we have been saying all along: that NATO is a relic of the past, of the Cold War era. They always replied that NATO had changed, that it had become more of a political alliance, but at the same time they were looking for an opportunity to give it a new lease on life as a military organisation. Well, this is exactly what they are doing now. There is nothing new in this for us.
Question: What about Ukraine’s victory?
Vladimir Putin: As for Ukraine’s victory, we are aware of this as well. Ukraine conducted talks with us, sometimes better than at other times. We made certain arrangements at some point, but later they, pardon the expression, chucked them. The calls to Ukraine to continue fighting and to abandon any further negotiations reaffirm our supposition that the united West and NATO do not care for Ukraine or the interests of the Ukrainian people, and that their goal is to protect their own interests. In other words, NATO and the leading members of the alliance are using Ukraine and the Ukrainian people to reinforce their positions and their role in the world, not to reaffirm their leadership but their hegemonism in the direct meaning of the word, their imperial ambitions. This is what they want. What they have always said about their exceptionalism, the idea they tried to impress on the international community that those who are not with them are against them – all this are manifestations of the same policy. This is not new to us.
Question: Mr President, Turkey has abandoned its convictions on the issue of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO. Will that decision have any effect on Russia-Turkey relations? What will Russia do now, especially in light of Stoltenberg’s statement that you wanted less NATO on Russia’s borders but got the opposite: more NATO.
Vladimir Putin: I am aware of this premise, which is wrong and bears no relation to reality. Our position has always been, as I have already said during this conversation today, that NATO is a relic of the Cold War and is only being used as an instrument of US foreign policy designed to keep its client states in rein. This is its only mission. We have given them that opportunity, I understand that. They are using these arguments energetically and quite effectively to rally their so-called allies. This is the first point.
On the other hand, regarding Sweden and Finland, we do not have such problems with Sweden and Finland as we have, regrettably, with Ukraine. We do not have territorial issues or disputes with them. There is nothing that could inspire our concern regarding Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO. If they want it, they can do it.
However, they should know that they did not face any threats before but, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed in their territory now, we will have to take mirror-like actions and create the same threats for them that are created for us. This is obvious. Don’t they understand this? Everything was good between us before, but now there will be tension, which is obvious and certainly unavoidable if, as I have said, any threats are created for us.
As for the assumption that we were fighting against NATO approaching us through Ukraine but now have Sweden and Finland to deal with, there is no substance behind it at all, because Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership is not at all the same as the potential membership of Ukraine. These are two different things. They know this very well, but they are promoting this idea to show that Russia has received more of what it did not want to have. No, this is entirely different, and we are aware of that. And they are aware of that. They are trying to substitute these notions, to show that Russia has not attained its goals. But this will not deceive us.
If Sweden and Finland want to join NATO, let them do it. You know, there are rude jokes about stepping into unsavoury things. This is their business. Let them step into what they wish. But Ukraine is a totally different matter. They were turning Ukraine into an anti-Russia, a bridgehead for trying to stir up Russia itself. They began fighting Russian culture and the Russian language, they began to persecute those who regarded themselves part of the Russian world. There is nothing like that in Finland or Sweden; the situation is completely different. If they want to join [the bloc], they are free to do it. [My Emphasis]
These are the preceding statement prior to the Q&A are the comments of a very confident leader who also shows he can play rhetorical games with his opponents. One reason for Putin's good spirits is noted by this Martyanov blog post, "North-South" which considerably strengthened Russia's future.
I would be interested in opinion here about weather a retreat out of Lysychansk is happening ? And if the retreat is under orders or simply commanders deciding to save their commands.
If a retreat is in progress, which would explain the rapid collapse of resistance, do people see it as a Russian failure allowing it to occur ?
Are retreating formations escaping in an orderly manner or is it in small groups ?
How much heavy equipment is betting out - tanks and artillery in particular ?
Posted by: Dan Farrand | Jul 1 2022 19:09 utc | 24
@Posted by: Skiffers | Jul 1 2022 18:26 utc | 18
With the cuts in Russian gas supplies and the increases in US LNG imports (Europe now takes over 50% of US LNG exports), US gas supplies exceeded Russian ones to Europe for the first time.
US exports are limited by the number of LNG terminals (with one shutdown for months due to a fire), and it takes years to build an LNG export terminal, so at least this year and next Europe will still be short of gas. There is no free capacity anywhere else to supply Europe, as well as the limitation of the number of LNG tankers (which also take years to build). The upcoming annual maintenance of Nordstream 1 (July 11 to 21) will drop Russian exports even further. Perhaps the Russians extend the maintenance window? I wouldn't be surprised given that Russia is playing with Europe the way a cat plays with a trapped mouse. Perhaps Russia is holding back as a final threat in case Europe thinks of escalating further on the sanctions or the military front?
And what a surprise, Canada is trying to use the crisis to get its moribund LNG terminal projects back online. With all the increased exports, North American customers will find that their more than decade long bounty of cheap natural gas will be gone with NA prices slowly normalizing with much higher international prices. Not good news for all those natural gas dependent industries, but great news for domestic coal mining and the coal-powered and dual-fuel generating power stations. The US is also exporting large amounts of coal, so coal prices will go up and with them electricity prices. EurAsia will become a bastion of cheap energy, minus the declining European archipelago.
The US and Europe are now Potemkin villages. Everything is fake. After so many years of plundering and pillaging our economy, our illustrious leadership has embarked on the final suicide. Que Sera, Sera.
Posted by: Immaculate deception | Jul 1 2022 19:19 utc | 26
how many "feints" are the ukies going to fall for? then again "gym rats and bouncers" are barely sentient creatures from my experience so they probably could have just lured them out with a keto protein shake on a string.
i did love the "azov's EPIC last stand" bit, though. cuz hiding in a cellar and trading human shields for food is so EPICCCCCC!!!, brah! idiots like that are the reason chris pratt and michael bay keep getting work.
Posted by: the pair | Jul 1 2022 19:26 utc | 27
Much respect from me regarding the practical and technical expertise of the folks who report and discuss here.
One aspect of warfare and policing that I never hear about--or maybe I'm just missing it--is electrical attacks. Any comments?
Posted by: HelenB | Jul 1 2022 19:40 utc | 28
Looks like Kraken is overrated and so too is NATO subterfuge and their Madrid show of force bluster. I just can't stomach the thought of the U.S. expanding its footprint in Spain. To think that the Spanish Empire once held half the U.S. under its control, and later helped the U.S. militarily to defeat the British in the War of Independence and Spain now being relegated to lowly servitude status within the American Empire eclipsing her prominent historic stature is undignified.
I have a question for NATO leaders the answer to which they have skirted and avoided since Putin is President.: What about Russia's security?
Since Vladimir Putin is in charge and Commander of Russian security forces, Russia never incrementally expanded its military arsenal to borders that threaten the U.S. or used its CIA equivalent to help depose a democratically-elected leader to seat a monarch, or foment revolutionary anarchy with intended coup or incited proxies to route or butcher sovereign leaders and so install puppet regimes. The U.S. is an infamous interloper guilty of all such foreign intervention and other crimes including egregious war crimes in several countries. The U.S. is the only country in the world to have wiped out two cities in Japan and their people with Atomic WMDs and carpet bomb the four corners of an entire country, Vietnam, with savage disregard for civilians. Repeatedly, the U.S. and its leaders have flouted International Law and dodged judicial indictment for multiple war crimes too many to count here.
Should Russia just turn the other cheek and ignore the decades-long hostile military buildup orchestrated by such a notoriously reputed lawless American aggressor and its vassals constituting an imperial arsenal advancing toward her borders? Would any leader be so irresponsible towards his people to just disregard such a imposing threat?
If Russia heavily militarized most of Central America and set up bases in Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil and other countries in the region, this planet would cease to exist, because the U.S. would launch a nuclear war to end all. The U.S. has been mostly at war with one sovereign foreign nation or another for almost a century justifying an aggressive defensive posture by countries like Russia and China that it unjustly blacklisted, closes in on militarily using territory of mostly bribed vassal alliances, and threatens economically and militarily weekly, often daily with every passing administration and year.
In contextual reality, Putin's patience has been remarkable and historically unprecedented. He is truly a great leader who advanced Russia from quasi ruin after 1991, like few others in her history. Subsequently, pushed to intolerable limits by economic and meddling geopolitical tyranny, he is now forced to rescue her again from financial collapse while defending her sovereignty and dignity. Russia is an eternal Phoenix set to rise again nurtured and guarded by a man tested by a perfect storm of adversity.
Posted by: Circe | Jul 1 2022 19:53 utc | 29
To Add Insult to Casualties and Injuries - RUS just demanded that their Grain Exports get Paid in ₽UB:
https://www.rt.com/business/558232-russia-switches-grain-exports-rubles/
RUS are now shipping out Grain+Goods via Mariupol, while UKR haven't cleared their Ports of Mines. Presume that UKR probably gave up on clearing them - knowing that RUS are going to overtake their Ports.
Posted by: IronForge | Jul 1 2022 19:54 utc | 30
@ Dan Farrand | Jul 1 2022 19:09 utc | 24
whether a retreat out of Lysychansk is happening . .
..from KyivIndependent
Russia in its turn continues making dangerous gains in the area, meaning that Ukraine will likely have to leave Lysychansk soon as well, in order to escape an even bigger, more deadly, and almost inevitable Russian trap. . .here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 19:55 utc | 31
Posted by: Immaculate deception | Jul 1 2022 19:19 utc | 26
Lebanon. Sri Lanka. Suck 'em dry.
Posted by: John Kennard | Jul 1 2022 19:55 utc | 32
on Lysychansk
from the UK General Staff
"In the Donetsk direction, the opponent's main efforts focus on surrounding our troops in the Lysychansk area from south and west, establishing full control over the Luhansk region. Conducts storm operations to block logistics supply to our units." - -here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 20:06 utc | 34
Ostro,
come here, good boy. Look, there's somebody, karlof1, who mentioned Martyanov. Go get karlof1, boy, go boy, go Ostro.
will give you then a nice bone, boy. go get him, boy.
Posted by: albagen | Jul 1 2022 20:14 utc | 35
Here's the ISW map, zoom in to see the extensive Russian advances.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 20:19 utc | 36
something I had not known about.
Thanks for the update Bernhard, and the good news
Posted by: michaelj72 | Jul 1 2022 20:22 utc | 37
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 1 2022 18:27 utc | 19
The quote you give at 19. It leaves me quite at sea. Lavrov says – “As for our relations with the EU, Russia has not had them since 2014. Brussels swallowed the humiliating move by the opposition forces which perpetrated a coup in Ukraine in defiance of EU guarantees.”
That is quite at variance with the part the EU actually played in Ukrainian affairs pre- and during 2014. Setting aside all else – and there was plenty else - the Nuland tape showed that Brussels was involved in the pre-coup activity as well as the US. The Ashton tape also showed EU involvement in Ukrainian internal politics.
On pre-2014 EU activities, these went hand in hand with intended NATO expansion in the pre-2014 period and were fully as significant. On that, the English EU authority, Dr Richard North, was explicit.
In this article Dr North writes on the comprehensive free trade agreements that were part of the Association agreement:-
http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.php?blogno=85045
Extract from the above:-
"There should thus be no mistake. These (EU) agreements are not about increasing trade in sunflower seeds and walnuts. They are an attempt by the EU to become a regional force that can project power, right up to the Russian border. Just don't expect the BBC or other British media to tell you.
"The Daily Telegraph, for instance, also omits the defence pact details. It simply reports on the "landmark economic trade pact", the signing prompting "a furious response from the Kremlin". Even the US press doesn't get it. It talks of an "economic pact" and then has Grigory Karasin, Russia's deputy foreign minister, warning in rather vague terms of "serious consequences".
"The Russian news agency, ITAR-TASS, however, is more informative. It has the Russian Foreign Ministry stating that: "the EU counterparts failed to prove the association agreements' advantage", expressing concerns that "the rupture of trade and economic relations with our neighbours can damage the Russian economy"."
A further article looked at EU expenditure on the project:–
http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.php?blogno=84781
Extract from above:-
“The extent of funding to the Eastern Partnership is colossal. Between 2011 and 2013, just EU spending on Ukraine was €389 million with €13,524,357 given to single beneficiaries in 2012. As much again was given to multiple recipients. But even more sinister is the way money was parcelled out to NGOs in relatively small packages, making a little go a long way.”"
And a further article examines the implications of the Association Agreement:-
http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.php?blogno=84766
Extract from above:-
"Go back a little, to December 2011, and you can see the game the EU was playing with its Association Agreement. The aim was, it said, "to accelerate the deepening of political and economic relations between Ukraine and the EU, as well as Ukraine's gradual integration in the EU Internal Market including by setting up a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA)".
"The Agreement was a "concrete way to exploit the dynamics in EU-Ukraine relations, focusing on support to core reforms, on economic recovery and growth, governance and sector co-operation". It was also seen as "a reform agenda for Ukraine, around which all Ukraine's partners can align themselves and focus their assistance".
"Thus the EU saw itself as the spearhead around which western penetration could be organised, including US aid.
"But this was always much more than a series of isolated association agreements with individual countries. It was very much part of a concerted programme to detach Russia from its allies, under a programme called the "Eastern Partnership policy", encompassing Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine."
One cannot look at all that, in conjunction with NATO expansion in the region, and claim there was no concerted effort to bring the boundaries of the EU - and of NATO - right up to the borders of the RF.
Most of the information and analysis of the Ukrainian war comes from American authorities. As Baud points out, it would scarcely be possible to find one’s way round the subject without those sources. Maybe for this reason there is a tendency to overlook the part Brussels played in the expansion of Western military power and influence to the borders of the RF.
But it was a necessary component of that expansion. NATO and the EU went hand in hand.
How then can Lavrov imply that the EU was not complicit in the events in the Ukraine of 2014? Surely “…Brussels swallowed the humiliating move by the opposition forces which perpetrated a coup in Ukraine in defiance of EU guarantees” does imply that the EU was not complicit, whereas the extracts and references above show quite the opposite.
Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 1 2022 20:25 utc | 38
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 1 2022 17:32 utc | 4
This efforts supports the denazification of Ukraine but what will it take to neuter NATO?
As the Europeans slowly focus on what's going on they will see that NATO has no balls. NATO doesn't need neutering. It will slink away in embarrassment. And, actually, it's served its actual purpose, that of capturing Europe for the US, after which it won't be needed*.
* The only remaining question is how the US is going to ensure that the Europeans fork over for military hardware (US manufactured, of course).
Posted by: Seer | Jul 1 2022 20:25 utc | 39
@22 james
Thanks for that link, lots of good observations in there
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 20:33 utc | 40
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 1 2022 19:09 utc | 23
"if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed in their territory now, we will have to take mirror-like actions and create the same threats for them that are created for us."
Once again, Lavrov mentions the "mirror" concept, which the Russians talked about last year. The idea of "mirroring" Western threats back to the West is what I believe the Ukraine war is all about. This is why Ukraine has to be taken in toto, in order to place the necessary strategic threats against the Aegis Ashore installations in Poland and Romania. In my view this is the overriding goal of the Russian SMO and why they won't stop at eastern Ukraine.
Posted by: albagen | Jul 1 2022 20:14 utc | 35
LOL Good one. Ostro is such an idiot on Martyanov.
Posted by: Richard Steven Hack | Jul 1 2022 20:33 utc | 41
Fun (yet painful) watching Boris telling Europe/Ukraine what they should be doing. He tries to deflect from the vapidness of his input with clownish behavior. Doesnt leave an opponent much to work with.
Ritter describes the English/British/UK (he said British) military as a joke.
Posted by: jared | Jul 1 2022 20:41 utc | 42
Scott Ritter, focused on the same flashpoint worrying me, Kaliningrad:
If there is one take away from the Russian military operation in Ukraine, it is that Russia doesn’t bluff. NATO and the rest of Europe can rest assured that unless a solution is found that brings an end to Lithuania’s blockade of Kaliningrad, there will be a war between NATO and Russia. [more]
Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jul 1 2022 20:42 utc | 43
PS- happy Canada Day, to anyone celebrating. Y'all are giving your southern neighbors a run for our money in having the screwy-est possible foreign policy. Happy Friday and cheers!
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 20:46 utc | 44
So we are all Maoists now? With out belief that NATO is a paper tiger.
Posted by: PeterWittgenstein | Jul 1 2022 20:46 utc | 45
I wonder if they will take and KEEP all the land around the pipelines? I wonder if Russia will sell gas to Europe when this is all over if the Europeans ask pretty please. My impression is Putin has no interest in selling to Europe even if they grovel and ask nicely.
Posted by: Tomo | Jul 1 2022 20:52 utc | 46
It's difficult for me to figure Putin out. He's definitely an enigma. I suspect he cultivates that aura. But the war has highlighted some of his virtues:
He's clearly a patient man. He rarely responds to the endless provocations being thrown at him by NATO. When he does it's usually asymmetrical and unexpected.
He lays his plans very carefully
He conceals his plans very well.
If he warns you about something you'd do well to listen.
He"s smarter than any of the NATO leaders.
There may be others....
Posted by: Citizenfitz | Jul 1 2022 21:03 utc | 47
I find it interesting, as an American, that most Americans either do not know or gloss over the fact that our "manifest destiny" was achieved through stealing the land of native Americans, bluffing the UK and Spain, and invading Mexico to acquire the southwest and California. It amazes me that somehow the Western powers think that history has ended, and political boundaries are inviolate. Boundaries have been subject to change throughout history. Russia's interest in Ukraine is no different.
Posted by: D White | Jul 1 2022 21:06 utc | 48
The mostly untapped carbon reserves (mainly) natural gas lay in broad strokes parallel to the Dniepr from Honyel (Biellarus) to and through Donjetsk. I'm a really the only cynic taking this into account?
Posted by: qqtf | Jul 1 2022 21:07 utc | 49
@46 Tomo
The pipes were built at significant expense, EU will be importing gas from someone anyway, RF will sell its gas to someone anyway. It is idiotic to do all the extra transport. The extra transport, plus building a bunch of import terminals, is a money loser, a waste of a diminishing resource, and CO2 / climate change for those who care, and puts EU industry at a needless disadvantage, blah blah blah blah blah.
Eventually they will come to their senses - just don't ask how soon. Could be years.
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 21:07 utc | 50
@ ptb | Jul 1 2022 20:46 utc | 44
giving your southern neighbors a run for our money in having the screwy-est possible foreign policy
Give Canada some credit. It's not part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, nor the Aukus alliance, nor the new Partners in the Blue Pacific, even though it fronts on the Indo-Pacific just like the US which is a member of all of the above.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 21:10 utc | 51
@Posted by: qqtf | Jul 1 2022 21:07 utc | 49
No, and all that gas is right next to the industrial centres of the DPR/LPR. Biden's son may have got those US$50,000 per month bribes (probably plus all the coke and underage hookers he could use) but it didn't help those greedy oligarchs and the West getting their hands on the Donbass gas reserves.
With the energy reserves, black earth, the industry, and the ports on the Black Sea Novorossiya may turn into an industrial powerhouse (as it was in Soviet times), and a big destination of Chinese investments.
Posted by: Aslangeo | Jul 1 2022 17:44 utc | 10
------------------------------------------------
That website is someone else's not Yuri's or Michail's.
Yuri Podolayaka's channels,
Rutube: https://rutube.ru/channel/23502473/
Telegram: https://t.me/yurasumy
VK group: https://vk.com/public213276384
Posted by: ostro | Jul 1 2022 21:20 utc | 53
news
>Biden: High gas prices to last 'as long as it takes' for Ukraine victory.
>Biden's Approval Rating Hits Disastrous New Low -- 38.4 here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 21:27 utc | 54
Yesterday, Lavrov gave a lesson in contemporary history to a group of Belarusian students many here at MoA would greatly benefit from reading, including English Outsider @38 since he answers your question. Unfortunately, there's only the Russian transcript and my machine translation has numerous grammatical errors that often mess with meaning. But I must admit that my POV and analysis on much of what's happening comes from the primary sources generated by Putin, Lavrov, Xi, and others as well as what we see declared by the Outlaw US Empire and its vassals.
Only recently has it been openly talked about publicly and often about the EU being a colony of the Outlaw US Empire, but that's been a fact for several decades and is one of those things Putin referred to as Russian knowing about for quite awhile. Lavrov clearly in my readings of what's he's consistently said is the EU was acting under orders from its master and is complicit in that sense. After the 2014 Coup, they said nothing because there was nothing for them to say--they were well fucked by Nuland, Obama, Biden, and Clinton; forcibly raped might be a better term. IMO, the best way to explain EU behavior at that moment was they were betrayed and stabbed in the back by their Master. As Nuland said: Fuck the EU; We're running the show. Aside from De Gaulle, Europe hasn't been independent of the Outlaw US Empire since it invaded Europe in 1943, and the noose has grow tighter ever since. If you recall, there's wasn't to be a Peace Dividend but a New World Order that became Neoliberal enslavement for all of the Outlaw US Empire's vassals and its "colonies" via the IMF/World Bank's neocolonial policies.
Here's how Lavrov describes what's behind the developing Big Picture that was already occurring what GHW Bush made his proclamation:
"At the heart of the current problems is not the concern of Western countries about what is happening in Ukraine. These are much larger-scale plans of the West, reflecting the understanding that the more than 500-year era of its dominance in world affairs has not just come to an end, but is becoming a thing of the past. The world is becoming multipolar. New centers of economic growth, financial power, and political influence are declaring themselves loudly and occupying increasingly stable and leading positions in world affairs, primarily in the economy. The current actions of the West show its desire to hinder the objective historical process with all its might, to maintain dominance at any cost. You can see how they "embark on all the hardships", starting from illegal interference in internal affairs up to the use of military force. Concluding with economic sanctions, which are applied, among other things, against our countries."
Like the Witch in the Wizard of Oz when splashed with water by Dorothy, the West is shrinking, dissolving into a morass of its own making. The Collective West that includes Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and to some degree South Korea must use the weakening of its Master to break free so individual nations don't get sucked into that same morass. To do so, they must understand that the EU/NATO/AUKUS, etc., are instruments of control wielded by the Outlaw US Empire to get its way because that's all it gives a damn about--and that doesn't include its citizen's interests, only those of the Power Elite.
Javelins are now available on the Dark Web. Going price $15,000 - $40,000.. sold off by corrupt Ukrainian officials.They cost US tax payers close to $200,000 each!
Biden is arming the world underground, first billions to Taliban and now Billions to Ukraine and they are ending up on the Dark Web and Black Markets around the world...
Posted by: ostro | Jul 1 2022 21:35 utc | 56
Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 1 2022 21:33 utc |
-----------------------------
You speak/read Russian?
Posted by: ostro | Jul 1 2022 21:38 utc | 57
The Russian specialty has always been maskirovka. I recall reading about Operation Bagration in '44. An entire Soviet army was positioned opposite Army Group South and given orders to pretend preparing for an offensive. Huge resources were committed purely for deception. The Germans redeployed forces from AG Centre to counter it. When the hammer fell further north AG Centre was blown wide open and the Russians tore through Belarus, Poland and into East Prussia. This operation is credited with properly destroying the Wehrmacht as a viable military and makes D-Day look like a picnic.
There will come a time when good historical battlefield assessments are written about this campaign and the Ukrainian military are not going to be mentioned favourably. I anticipate liberal use of the words 'cowboys', 'buffoon' and 'amateurish'.
Posted by: Patroklos | Jul 1 2022 21:45 utc | 58
@ D White | Jul 1 2022 21:06 utc
Philippines, Puerto Rico, Hawaii …
It’s also been my experience that: Even when you tell them these things, it doesn’t mean anything to them. (Maybe it sinks in later. But, I’ve seen no proof of that.). Has that been your experience?
The more I read online, the more I withdrew from almost all social activity outside of work. I find it hard to relate to and meaningfully communicate with people still under the most basic of “spells”. What is the point of communication if neither side learns anything from the other?
Posted by: dfg | Jul 1 2022 21:47 utc | 59
Company finalizes first U.S. LNG project in 3 years
"A Virginia-based company said it has secured $13.2 billion of financing for a planned liquefied natural gas facility in Louisiana, marking the first financial close of a U.S. LNG export project since August 2019 ... The first phase of Plaquemines is expected to export up to 13.33 million metric tons of LNG per year and the transaction “represents the largest project financing in the world closed to date in 2022,” Venture Global said ... While the Plaquemines project is a few years away from operation, continued authorization of U.S. LNG projects will be an important tool for U.S. foreign policy and also help deter bad actors from weaponizing energy,” Riedl said."
The facility won't be online before 2025, but shows that the Ukrainian War is wonderful news for North American gas producers and exporters and terrible news for North American gas consumers. This decade, North American gas prices will normalize to global LNG price levels. That will be a huge issue for NA retail consumers (domestic space heating is predominantly natural gas, plus increases in the cost of electricity generation) and NG and energy intensive manufacturing. Another own goal on the US national level, but a big win for the oligarchs. They are a parasite that is eating its host for short-term gains.
Current map of Lysychansk cauldron, though may already be out of date the way things are moving.
https://twitter.com/Suriyakmaps/status/1542978885461090305/photo/1
https://t.me/levigodman/3818
LPR Ambassador
From the north - from the side of the glass factory Proletary, the offensive is also actively developing. Peacekeeping troops advanced into the depths of urban development by about 3-4 blocks;On the right bank of the Seversky Donets, after yesterday's crossing of the allied units, a wide bridgehead was formed with a center in the area of the helipad. From there, with a fairly wide front, they move in a south-westerly direction towards the city center.
Another group of allied troops is moving to meet them from the concrete goods section and the Melnikov mine, squeezing the vise around the central regions of Lisichansk.
At the same time, the allied forces are striking another village of Lisichansk - Novodruzhesk. Fortified areas with underground passages were found there, where Ukrainian militants are still hiding. How many of them will survive there after massive artillery strikes, only God knows, but under such an onslaught they will not be able to hold this area for a long time.
As a result, the Lysychansk group is dismantled from four directions at once, pushing them away from the main large urban industrial zones, where the enemy could potentially catch on, but we leave them less and less chances, step by step, bringing the complete liberation of the territory of the Lugansk Republic closer.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 1 2022 21:57 utc | 61
Ah the old bait and switch tactic. Works every time!
Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | Jul 1 2022 21:59 utc | 62
Not an easy life for ordinary citizens, Kharkov today. https://youtu.be/nxa0UEak8xg (in Russian)
For them, it is just hard life, which had become even harder.
Posted by: ostro | Jul 1 2022 22:08 utc | 63
it fronts on the Indo-Pacific
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 21:10 utc | 51
NATO (1949 mil): US (CENTCOM, AFRICOM, EUCOM, NORTHCOM, INDOPACOM, SOUTHCOM, SPACECOM), EU-EEA, CA, AU*, NZ*
APEC (1989 FTA): CN, CN-hk, CN-tw, RU, ID, SG, VN, TH, PH, MX, PE, CL, BN, PG, MY, KR; US, AU, JP, NZ, CA
OAS (1978 NGO): AG, AR, BB, BS, BZ, BO, CL, CO, CU, CR, DM, EC, SV, GD, GT, GY, HN, HT, JM, KN, MX, NI, PA, PY, PE, SL, UY, VZ; US, CA
* observer, dialogue, or applicant member
Posted by: sln2002 | Jul 1 2022 22:20 utc | 65
Just imagine, bar flies, if your city is closed up like Kharkov, how would you feel living in it? Watch the video - https://youtu.be/DvNxui7-Ins
Posted by: ostro | Jul 1 2022 22:20 utc | 66
oops I forgot
CP-TPP (2018 FTA): AU, CA, JP, NZ, SG, MY, VN, BN, CL, MX, PE, UK*
Posted by: sln2002 | Jul 1 2022 22:22 utc | 67
Worth a read.
A who's who of the main reasons for this conflict.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/07/01/ukraine-is-the-latest-neocon-disaster/
Posted by: Jpc | Jul 1 2022 22:23 utc | 68
Been thinking about something regarding the Kaliningrad blockade: there is no way in hell the eu will allow Lithuania to transform it onto a full blockade without some serious repercussions from the eu side, based on the fact that they actually have some sense not to escalate on this one. Lithuania needs Poland to do something like that, and their forgin minister admits this is getting A little silly…. Am I not wrong?
Posted by: Mathew Palmieri | Jul 1 2022 22:25 utc | 69
Presume that UKR probably gave up on clearing them - knowing that RUS are going to overtake their Ports.
Posted by: IronForge | Jul 1 2022 19:54 utc | 30
Turkey holds KEY to unblocking Black Sea grain deal, Ukraine says, 1 July
Kyiv government official says a proposal under discussion would mean no need to de-mine waters to get grain moving.Turkish ship leaves Ukraine's Mariupol after grain talks with Moscow, 22 June escort service
[...]
Ukraine is looking to Turkey for ["]security guarantees["] that would unlock a deal with Russia to allow millions of tons of grain to be shipped through the Black Sea to a hungry world.
Posted by: sln2002 | Jul 1 2022 22:28 utc | 70
@ 55
Lavrov described the US rules-based international order --
"illegal interference in internal affairs up to the use of military force. Concluding with economic sanctions, which are applied, among other things
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 22:30 utc | 71
@ dfg | Jul 1 2022 21:47 utc | 59
I know how you feel, its like most people are living in a totally fake reality these days. When social interaction is limited to small talk it just isn't worth having.
Posted by: MarkU | Jul 1 2022 22:32 utc | 72
https://thesaker.is/sitrep-operation-z-slomo-collapse/
There is a very strange narrative over at The Saker - to the effect that Ukies on the battlefield are selling upscale Western weapons to Russia. Like French howitzers. Is this true?
Posted by: Eighthman | Jul 1 2022 22:35 utc | 73
Even, if you are living in the US or Canada, this might happen to your city, becoming a ghost city, have a look, Kharkov today, 1st of July, https://youtu.be/DvNxui7-Ins
WW3 is on the way!
Posted by: ostro | Jul 1 2022 22:35 utc | 74
A bit of light relief, perhaps?
https://southfront.org/smashthenazis
Posted by: Putinski | Jul 1 2022 22:44 utc | 75
@51 Don Bacon
true... I was being a bit unfair. Sore about having to give up my happy illusions about the benign leadership of the genuinely great Canadians I know. And still jealous of the universal health care.
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 22:46 utc | 76
news report
Ukrainian authorities say Russian missiles have struck a multi-storey block of flats and nearby holiday resorts in Ukraine's southern Odesa region, killing at least 21 people and wounding dozens.
...Germany believes the Ukies
In Berlin, the government condemned the attack and fresh denials of responsibility from the Kremlin. "The Russian side, which is once again talking about collateral damage, is inhumane and cynical," said German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit.
. . .because Germany would never do anything like that . .would it?
In September 2009, the German commander of NATO troops in Kunduz called in a U.S. fighter jet to strike two fuel trucks near the city which NATO believed had been hijacked by Taliban insurgents. The Afghan government said at the time 99 people, including 30 civilians, were killed. The death toll shocked Germans and ultimately forced its defence minister to resign over accusations of covering up the number of civilian casualties in the run-up to Germany’s 2009 election.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jul 1 2022 22:50 utc | 77
@69 Matthew Palmieri
They're blockading seaport, which is the main value of the place, from the mainland, for the significant export goods. Intended purpose is to stop RF exports by sea.
So it is a good approximation of an economic blockade, even though they allow humanitarian supplies food.
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 22:52 utc | 78
[continued from 78]
obv. RF has many other seaports, but the principle of the matter is that it is a de facto blockade of a port
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 22:56 utc | 79
@77 Don Bacon
For the best part of June, German media takes 95 % of what Ukraine officials say as fact and it will be repeated uneditted over and over again. Whereas any word from Russia is effectively called a lie. They speak of Russian propaganda 24/7, utterly oblivious to the fact that it is them performing it. No word on any attacks by Ukraine at Donezk, no mentioning of burned Churches, Azov regalia in Mariupol et al The people of the Donbass virtually never exist or existed.
Utterly heinous stuff.
Posted by: CM of Berlin | Jul 1 2022 23:18 utc | 80
The purpouse of this post is:
It's Friday, bitches!:
1. Let the soldiers enjoy good music by a superb musician:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lrGnOXHqZs
2. Let the russian people enjoy how marvellous their women are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNfpMRSCFPE
3. Let the people enjoy how marvellous they are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuPX8mjeb-E
A salute
Posted by: Nara | Jul 1 2022 23:18 utc | 81
Fight or no fight?
Russians say they voluntarily withdrew from the area around Kharkov. Ukrainians say they liberated the territory after heavy fighting. Can both claims be true at the same time?
An interview with a group of Finnish volunteer fighters explained how. Foreigners were ordered to take control of some territory recently vacated by Russians. Americans went in first, the Finns followed. Ukrainians were supposed to come soon after. The Finns were spotted and subjected to 15 minutes of artillery fire. The ten Finns tried to stay low, but two were wounded, one seriously. The Ukrainians somewhat behind had scrambled, including the APC + driver the Finns relied on to take them back. It took several miles of walking to get back to base.
The interview appeared over a month ago. I then understood that this is a trap. By the time of the interview the Finns had already been moved to the Donbass front. Russia recently claimed that of the 79 known Finnish volunteers 20 had been killed.
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Jul 1 2022 23:21 utc | 82
Posted by: ptb | Jul 1 2022 22:52 utc | 78
Grain-laden vessel leaves Ukrainian port – official, Russian escort service
Evgeny Balitsky, the self-described “head of the military-civil administration of Zaporozhsky Region,” made the announcement on his Telegram channel.MEANWHILE ... Uncle Volody's telethon pivots to South America. APsplains,
[...]
He noted that several Russian Navy warships were providing protection for the vessel. Balitsky also pointed out that the city and its harbor are “completely safe” after the Russian Navy removed mines from there.
The conversations with Alberto Fernández of Argentina and Gabriel Boric of Chile came a little more than two weeks after Zelenskyy spoke with Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso and Guatemalans President Alejandro Giammattei.At the time, Zelenskyy said in a speech that the conversations with Lasso and Giammattei marked “the beginning of our new policy of restoring relations with Latin America.” [...] Zelenskyy wrote that he thanked [Chile Pres Gabriel] Boric for his country’s support in the United Nations and “discussed the possibility of involving Chilean specialists in demining.”
CELAC (2013 NGO): AG, AR, BS, BB, BZ, BO, BR, CL, CL-rn, CO, CR, CU, DM, EC, SV, GD, GT, GY, HN, HT, JM, KN, LC, MX, NI, PA, PY, PE, PR, SR, VC, VZ
OAS (1978 NGO): AG, AR, BB, BS, BZ, BO, CL, CO, CU, CR, DM, EC, SV, GD, GT, GY, HN, HT, JM, KN, MX, NI, PA, PY, PE, SL, UY, VZ; US, CA
Posted by: sln2002 | Jul 1 2022 23:30 utc | 85
ostro #66
Just imagine, bar flies, if your city is closed up like Kharkov, how would you feel living in it? Watch the video - https://youtu.be/DvNxui7-Ins
Kharkiv to be precise. Looks good, no dog droppings on the pavement, no Gonzalo Lira sipping coffee at the cafe, no pictures of Biden or billboards celebrating Zelensky, graffiti "yankee go home". Odd that the channel host is driving a Red Cross car but I guess that was donated by Haiti as a thank you for the one house that was built by Red Cross USA after the cyclone destroyed their land.
You see ostro it proves the point that b made in his lead post here - the kraken hoodlums left the city and are dead. Peace has returned.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 1 2022 23:31 utc | 86
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 1 2022 23:31 utc | 85
LOL!
Posted by: sln2002 | Jul 1 2022 23:33 utc | 87
Posted by: English Outsider | Jul 1 2022 20:25 utc | 38
It might at least in part be a diplomatic nicety allowing in a byegones-be-byegones way some independent progress in discussion, like Putin's maddening references to Russia's Western "partners" or whatever the term was who were busily emptying their military inventories into Ukraine.
It might also be an expression of that inimitable official Russian sense of humor.
Posted by: John Kennard | Jul 1 2022 23:50 utc | 88
You know morons,
since one of my good friends died a few days ago I need to say to you one thing even if I like your talk
if you are any how pro war even if it is just, go to hell, everyone is loved by thousands and if you dont smell the flowers well, you will at some point sooner or later
So please, 1 thing, let us try to change something, I HATE THIS MORONS WHO WANT US TO KILL EACH OTHER!!!
--
If the flies keep fighting I dont have to eat them
~~ Joe 6 pack Tzu -.-
Posted by: Macpott | Jul 2 2022 0:04 utc | 90
The human being is able for searching, option and choice.
I want to break free. Even that means my dead. My brothers and sisters, in the conflict, to be free, sacrifice themselves for the Life and Existence of Russia. What is Russia? The collective archetype of millions of humans that are not prone to die by other humans and their imposition-based pseudo rules.
Take a note about it: people want to be free and are free:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEqYzdz3Zvg
Posted by: Nara | Jul 2 2022 0:04 utc | 91
Abe #20
After sufficient number of nazis is killed, Russian/LDR forces will start maneuvering and walk in where they want to.
Agreed and they may be advantaged by a local populace who could turn their anger on the nazi remnants responsible for destroying their once was nation. The local vigilante might just root out the bulk of the remnant losers and perhaps form (with some help) viable local administrations committed to building society rather than fracturing it with petty hatreds. Time will tell but I suspect it will be an 'occupation' of civil ideas rather than force and blunt ideologies.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 2 2022 0:08 utc | 92
Eighthman #73
There is a very strange narrative over at The Saker - to the effect that Ukies on the battlefield are selling upscale Western weapons to Russia. Like French howitzers. Is this true?
Perhaps the confused narrative is a result of Erdogan's procurement staff picking up some bargains for 'caretaking' by their colleagues in Idlib.
I guess they are easily disguised in a ships hold filled with wheat.
Or perhaps I harbor unreasonable distrust of Turkey these days?
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 2 2022 0:15 utc | 93
The whole Imperial scam is coming to an end. The battlefield is important but only because it is a daily reminder of what the Empire is really about and always has been.
As it dies there couldn't be a better front man than Zelensky who never says a true word where there is an alternative: every day Kiev issues its report of what is going on. And every day the world-outside the relatively tiny circle of those who believe what the Mighty Wurlitzer is saying because they see themselves as its shareholders and its works as profitable- understands that, with the insouciance of a nation that has much better things to do with its time and resources, Russia is slowly ambling towards victory.
And that is the real story, which can be measured by the slow diminution of support for the NATO narrative which the world knows is the Washington narrative and is in fact the Wall St-City narrative.
One by one the governments that used to feel that, if they didn't conform they would be in deep trouble, are waking up and realising that more than half of the world's population, and a good part of its economic and financial muscle is not conforming and is chuckling as the old Empire mutters to itself about its influence and cunning and power.
The end is coming soon and the form it will take is telegraphed in Lebanon and Sri Lanka. The world is realising that when the world owes the usurers more money than it can pay it is the usurers not the world who are in trouble.
What Lebanon and Sri Lanka are surely becoming aware of is that both have a perfect right in law and custom to repudiate the vast debts incurred in the name of their populations by corrupt puppets of the lenders. Most of the money that Sri Lanka and Lebanon owe can be categorised as odious debt and written off as a warning to lenders not to bribe those borrowing money on behalf of the countries in which they owe their power to corruption and violence.
Of course there is nothing new about this: it has been happening for a long time and many countries, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, have found themselves, faced with annual debt charges far beyond their ability to pay, forced either to give away their land, mineral resources and other wealth or to impose draconian rule on their working people, in the form of wage cuts and the breaking of social pledges on such matters as education, healthcare and pensions.
As a matter of fact the current regime in Ukraine is a prime example of the way this works: during the past twenty or thirty years governments, which began with a blank sheet- a debt free Ukraine- have borrowed billions and billions of dollars, much of which simply disappeared into private bank accounts (Hunter and Joe Biden's for example) or was returned to the lenders in the form of payments for services or armaments. Thus Canada gives Ukraine a large credit which Ukraine uses to pay Canadians for training its troops. The US forwards Ukraine hundreds of billions to buy US armaments with. The UK and Germany do the same thing. In the end Ukraine will owe, in one way or another debt, or lease lend, more money in interest than it can possibly pay without butchering its people and selling them off as dog meat.
But Ukraine is lucky- it will never have to pay these debts. Nor will it have to privatise its publicly owned agricultural lands or re-possess its oligarchs' offshore wealth. And this is because the threat which was always held over the heads of countries which did not pay or come to a settlement regarding its debts to Wall St, namely that they would lose their ability to borrow in future, has now dissolved and hardly anyone has noticed.
Ukraine will never pay its debts because any future Ukrainian government will renounce its debts on the grounds that they were incurred to finance national suicide in the form of attacks on the country's own population. This is odious debt with a vengeance- no people, least of all one like the Ukraine's which has suffered a steady decline in living standards (from a not very opulent Soviet Union beginning) over thirty years, is going to pay back money borrowed to bomb and shell, torture and brainwash itself. Clearly the debt will be repudiated and the lenders suffer grave financial losses.
But Ukraine will have no problem in borrowing money internationally, for its reconstruction because Russia, China and the other Bric powers will lend it to them to finance useful projects of benefit to all.
And that will signal the end of the imperial scam, which was always a financial racket, enforced by state military debt collectors.
What has been taking place in the SMO is a clear and unmistakable demonstration to the world (including Sri Lanka and Lebanon) that NATO cannot collect its debts any more. And that the victims of NATO's financiers can, with impunity, repudiate such debts.
And in case anyone, in one of the obscure little countries teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, has been too busy to notice, NATO itself, by refusing to pay its debts to Russia and seizing the assets of several other countries besides, has made it perfectly clear that the rights of creditors are founded entirely on the force they are able to exert on debtors. And that force is weakened to the point of having become negligible.
Posted by: bevin | Jul 2 2022 0:55 utc | 94
@ bevin | Jul 2 2022 0:55 utc | 93 with the death of empire words
I think it is going to be hard on small countries that empire can still bully easily and cannot easily come under the China/Russia axis for protection.....more war crimes to come.....sigh
The private finance cult own things more than debt which they have pawned off on pension systems and such so bringing their power to ground will take more effort and needs to happen because inheritance needs to be neutered so none can accumulate power and control again.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 2 2022 1:10 utc | 95
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 2 2022 0:15 utc | 92
Used Bayrakhtars.
Posted by: John Kennard | Jul 2 2022 1:17 utc | 96
I suspect it will be an 'occupation' of civil ideas rather than force and blunt ideologies.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 2 2022 0:08 utc | 91
We already see Russia's occupation-policy at work, as quick restoration of civil function and seamless integration as possible: Normalcy!
Posted by: John Kennard | Jul 2 2022 1:23 utc | 97
John Kennard #95
Used Bayrakhtars.
Aha, and Erdy just happens to have a relative who can patch em up - just like new.
On Kharkiv- after all the krakens are recycled: I can see the Russian victory entry to the city with a Tesla ev in the lead with a Z on the roof, maybe followed by a VW on a tow rope.
It would be a sign of the times and an unforgettable FU EUKUSA.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Jul 2 2022 1:31 utc | 98
Eighthman & uncle tungsten
There was a deal on video for an armoured vehicle not long before the SMO. DPR or LPR probably got a bargain. Smaller stuff is easier to smuggle out through Europe, but Russia or LDPR is probably the only viable buyer for the French Caesars. Business is business.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 2 2022 1:41 utc | 99
@qqtf #49
I do not believe what you said is correct.
The maps that I have seen say the shale natural gas in Ukraine lies in 2 areas: 1 in the Transcarpathia region next to Transnistria, the other in Donetsh.
Posted by: c1ue | Jul 2 2022 1:48 utc | 100
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fascinating b... thanks...
military summary on its channel june 29th discussed his thinking on what russia would do - pure speculation based on his reasoning.. i found that quite interesting.. for anyone interested it is somewhere about 6 minutes into this video as memory serves..
Ukraine. Military Summary And Analysis 29.06.2022
Posted by: james | Jul 1 2022 17:13 utc | 1