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Ukraine – A Frontline Report – Vanishing Foreign Weapons
Some people ask why I read the New York Times and other such outlets of mostly 'western' propaganda. One obvious reason is to "know your enemy", to find out what the propaganda wants us to think. Another one is to find the gems that give a real picture of a situation which often sneak themselves into the coverage, though usually way below the headline.
Today there is a piece about Ukrainian military units which are trading weapons with each other.
A Frontline Shadow Economy: Ukrainian Units Trade Tanks and Artillery
Within the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, Zmei was not just a lowly sergeant. He was the brigade’s point man for a wartime bartering system among Ukrainian forces. Prevalent along the front line, the exchange operates like a kind of shadow economy, soldiers say, in which units acquire weapons or equipment and trade them for supplies they need urgently.
Most of the bartering involves items captured from Russian troops. Ukrainian soldiers refer to them as “trophies.”
Yes, sure, the Ukrainian units catch so many weapons from the Russians that there is a lively trade of those. However, read beyond the first 25 paragraphs of such heroic trade propaganda to get a picture of the real situation and mood at the front lines:
Cont. reading: Ukraine – A Frontline Report – Vanishing Foreign Weapons
Ukraine – A ‘Counteroffensive’ That Was Destined To Fail
Yesterday Ukraine launched some kind of offensive in the general Kherson region north of the Dnieper.
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News of the success is murky. This morning Dima of the Military Summary Channel made a special report (vid) which listed the claims of both sides. His map drawings showed at least five directions of attacks.
Cont. reading: Ukraine – A ‘Counteroffensive’ That Was Destined To Fail
Europe’s Economic And Social Suicide – Provoked by The U.S. And Helped Along By Europe’s Leaders
Due to the stupidity of Europe's political leadership the U.S. has managed to push it towards committing economic and social suicide.
On February 8 Michael Hudson, a research professor of Economics at University of Missouri, wrote about the then upcoming conflict in Ukraine which the U.S. was intentionally provoking.
Michael Hudson: America’s Real Adversaries Are Its European and Other Allies
The sanctions that U.S. diplomats are insisting that their allies impose against trade with Russia and China are aimed ostensibly at deterring a military buildup. But such a buildup cannot really be the main Russian and Chinese concern. They have much more to gain by offering mutual economic benefits to the West. So the underlying question is whether Europe will find its advantage in replacing U.S. exports with Russian and Chinese supplies and the associated mutual economic linkages.
What worries American diplomats is that Germany, other NATO nations and countries along the Belt and Road route understand the gains that can be made by opening up peaceful trade and investment. If there is no Russian or Chinese plan to invade or bomb them, what is the need for NATO? And if there is no inherently adversarial relationship, why do foreign countries need to sacrifice their own trade and financial interests by relying exclusively on U.S. exporters and investors?
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Instead of a real military threat from Russia and China, the problem for American strategists is the absence of such a threat. …
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The only way left for U.S. diplomats to block European purchases is to goad Russia into a military response and then claim that avenging this response outweighs any purely national economic interest. As hawkish Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, explained in a State Department press briefing on January 27: “If Russia invades Ukraine one way or another Nord Stream 2 will not move forward.” The problem is to create a suitably offensive incident and depict Russia as the aggressor.
To provoke a war in Ukraine was easy as the movie production team ruling Ukraine was willing to sacrifice its people and country in a unwinnable war against Russia. The Ukrainian actor and president Vladimir Zelensky had already announced that the Ukraine would, by force, take back Crimea and the Donbas republics that were in the hand of a Russia aligned Ukrainian resistance.
Cont. reading: Europe’s Economic And Social Suicide – Provoked by The U.S. And Helped Along By Europe’s Leaders
Ukraine Open Thread 2022-141
Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.
Note: Stick to the topic or get banned.
The current open thread for other issues is here.
The MoA Week In Review – (Not Ukraine) OT 2022-140
Last week’s posts on Moon of Alabama:
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Other issues:
Social Media Manipulation:
China:
War crimes:
Use as open (Not Ukraine) thread …
Ukraine – ‘Game Changing’ Policy Moves That Ain’t Game Changing
When politicians throw around big numbers or plans one should always look at the details to see what they really entail.
In May Biden announced and Congress passed a $40 billion package 'for Ukraine'.
The former U.S. Marines intelligence officer Scott Ritter was very impressed with it. On May 22 he went on a talk show with Garland Nixon and Ray McGovern and claimed that Russia would have to change its special operation to counter all the new weapons. Ritter was very agitated (47:55 min). A few days later, in an email-interview with Sputnik, he called the $40 billion package a "game changer":
Sputnik: On 21 May, Biden signed a $40 billion military aid package to Ukraine. Could the provision of new weapons become a game-changer for Kiev?
Scott Ritter: It's not could, it is a game changer. That doesn't mean that Ukraine wins the game. But Russia started the special military operation with a limited number of troops and with clearly stated objectives that were designed to be achieved with this limited number of troops.
Today, Russia still has the same number of troops and the same objectives. But instead of going up against the Ukrainian military as it existed at the start of the conflict, it's now going up against a Ukrainian military that is supported by a weapons package that by itself nearly matches the defence budget for Russia in all of one year. I think the defence budget for Russia in 2021 was around $43 billion.
This package that was just provided nearly matches that and when you add it to what has already been provided during the first five months of 2022, that's $53 billion. That's nearly $10 billion more than Russia spends on the totality of its military in one year. That changes the game. Again, the $40 billion package is not all weapons. A lot of it is humanitarian support and then some other financial support. But it's still… The amount of money it's provided through in terms of weapons, it's a lot.
The United States and NATO are also providing real time intelligence support to the Ukrainians. That's a game changer. And NATO's countries have now provided Ukraine with strategic depth going back through Poland and Germany, where bases are being used to train Ukrainian forces on the new weapons that are being provided.
However, as Larry Johnson and others pointed out to him, the $40 billion was just a talking point and the real sum was much smaller:
Cont. reading: Ukraine – ‘Game Changing’ Policy Moves That Ain’t Game Changing
Ukraine Open Thread 2022-139
Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.
Note: Stick to the topic or get banned.
The current open thread for other issues is here.
No. Russia’s Iran Relations Do Not Change With The Nuclear Deal.
Indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran about the re-entry of the U.S. into the nuclear deal are progressing slowly and may not come to fruition any time soon.
Israel' government, with is in the mid of another election campaign, is still trying to derail any new deal:
Israel’s defence minister Benny Gantz will travel to the US later this week for a series of meetings with officials to discuss the latest developments.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Wednesday urged Biden and Western powers to call off the deal with Iran, saying that negotiators are letting Tehran manipulate the talks.
“The countries of the West draw a red line, the Iranians ignore it, and the red line moves,” Lapid told reporters at a press conference in Jerusalem.
Israel has come up with many arguments against the deal. Most of those have been refuted long ago. A new hook is therefore needed to come up with something that may prevent a renewed agreement.
The current anti-Russian propaganda atmosphere allows to spin the alleged threats from Iran and Russia into a new narrative. (That Russia has recently taken a strong position against Israel may also have something to do with this.)
We thus get fantasy pieces like this from Poltico.eu
Russia eyes Iran as sanctions-busting backdoor for oil sales
A nuclear deal with Tehran would give Putin a perfectly timed Plan B to get oil out to global markets.
Cont. reading: No. Russia’s Iran Relations Do Not Change With The Nuclear Deal.
Ukraine Previously Cited High Casualty Rates – It Is Now Lowballing Those Numbers
In June several Ukrainian officials admitted that their army had some 700 or even more casualties per day. The numbers were played up to gain access to more 'western' weapons. Since then Ukrainian officials have stated much lower totals of killed and wounded than make sense.
The lowball casualty numbers now are probably convenient to increase moral in Ukraine and to hide from its supporters the inevitable defeat that the Ukrainian army will experience.
This report must be seen in that light.
Russia Hits Train Station in Deadly Attack on Ukraine’s Independence Day – New York Times
A Russian missile hit a train station in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 22 people, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday, in an attack that came as Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day and brought home the harsh reality of the six-month-old war.
The attack, which took place in an area about 74 miles east of the city of Dnipro in Ukraine-controlled territory, was one of the deadliest strikes on the country’s railways since April, when more than 50 people were killed when a rocket slammed into a crowded railway platform in eastern Ukraine.
The previous attack on a train station which killed some 50 people in Kramatorsk was done with a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile fired from a position under Ukrainian control. Since 2019 the Russian military no longer uses Tochka-U missiles. They have been completely replaced with the more effective Iskander missiles. (A month ago the Donetsk People's Republic was said to have received some old Tochka's for counter battery fire against the Ukrainian units that fire at Donetsk city.)
Now lets look at yesterday's attack which happened near the Chaplino railway station in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
Direct attacks on trains or train stations have been quite unusual in this war. A few months ago there were some night attacks on trains in the western regions of Ukraine hitting at weapon transports that had come in from the 'west'. But an attack with high casualty numbers is unusual. Russia must have been sure that the train transported military and not civilian stuff.
Here are pictures of the result of yesterday's attack:
/Update/
There is also a short video clip which shows that the passenger train was standing next to freight train that carried military vehicles.
/End-update
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Cont. reading: Ukraine Previously Cited High Casualty Rates – It Is Now Lowballing Those Numbers
Ukraine – Wrong Assumptions, Wrong Conclusions – And A Lot Of Dead Soldiers
As the war in Ukraine passes the half year mark lots of media produce their conclusions about the beginning of the war. But when looked at in detail these are most superficial write ups of what people assume Russia's plans at the start of the war were and how those assumed plans fit with the presumed reality.
The Washington Post has a long 'exclusive' piece headlined:
Battle for Kyiv: Ukrainian valor, Russian blunders combined to save the capital
It first describes the immediate start of the war and then states a false assumption:
The question everyone faced at that moment, [Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis] Monastyrsky said, was: “How far can the enemy go with that enormous fist?”
If the Russians could seize the seat of power in Ukraine, or at least cause the government to flee in panic, the defense of the country would quickly unravel. Moscow could install a puppet government.
That was the Kremlin’s plan.
I don't know why the authors think they know what the Kremlin's plan was. I am certain that the described one is not what Russia intended to strive for.
A piece in Newsweek makes similar assertions:
Cont. reading: Ukraine – Wrong Assumptions, Wrong Conclusions – And A Lot Of Dead Soldiers
Ukraine Open Thread 2022-138
Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.
Note: Stick to the topic or get banned.
The current open thread for other issues is here.
How To Manipulate Readers With ‘Expert’ Slanted Reporting
Imran Khan, a former cricket star who went into politics and became Prime Minister of Pakistan, had been ousted by bribing and threatening politicians of his coalition to turn against him. Khan had developed good relations with China and Russia and was against allowing the U.S. military to use Pakistan as a base for attacks in Afghanistan.
The new Pakistani government under Shehbaz Sharif has turned out to follow opposite policies. But it is increasingly unpopular. Imran Khan has used his popularity to raise a public ruckus against the ruling elite and the military and judicial forces behind it. He and his PTI party have good chances to win in the next election.
U.S. media reporting about Khan is thus conflicted. While it tries to show him in a negative light it can not simply omit the facts that speak in his favor. Quoting partisan expert is one of its tools it uses to solve that conflict.
A recent New York Times demonstrates this technique.
Pakistan’s Imran Khan Is Now the Target of Forces He Once Wielded
Old allies like the military have turned against him, but the former prime minister’s appeal on the street has only grown stronger, setting up a dangerous showdown.
The opener:
Cont. reading: How To Manipulate Readers With ‘Expert’ Slanted Reporting
Ukraine – Dugina Killer Identified – War Of Attrition Continues
It seems that Russian authorities have found the killer of Darya Dugina.
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The killer, one Natalya Vovk, is associated with the Azov Nazis of Ukraine. So is her brother. Both are in Ukraine right now but will probably flee elsewhere.
Yelensis has details that point to willful murder of Darya Dugina:´
Cont. reading: Ukraine – Dugina Killer Identified – War Of Attrition Continues
Ukraine Open Thread 2022-137
Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.
The current open thread for other issues is here.
The MoA Week In Review – (Not Ukraine) OT 2022-136
RIP – Darya Dugina
Some voices on the death of Darya Dugina:
Darya Dugina
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Car blast kills daughter of Russian philosopher Dugin – RT.com
Investigators suspect an improvised explosive device was used
A powerful explosion ripped apart an SUV near Moscow on Saturday night, instantly killing its driver, identified as Darya Dugina, the daughter of Russian political commentator Aleksandr Dugin.
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Earlier on Saturday evening, Dugin was giving a lecture on ‘Tradition and History’ at a family festival in Moscow Region. His daughter attended the event as a guest. Unconfirmed reports say Dugin initially planned to leave the festival with his daughter, but later decided to take a separate car, while Darya took his Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
Dugina was a political commentator and daughter of the veteran Russian philosopher, known for his staunch anti-Western and ‘neo-Eurasian’ views.
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Western media has painted Dugin as a driving force behind President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy over the past decade. In recent months, CBS dubbed him “the far-right theorist behind Putin’s plan,” while the Washington Post called him a “far-right mystical writer who helped shape Putin’s view of Russia.”
In Russia, the supposed shadowy puppet master is largely considered to be a marginal figure. While he has served as an adviser to several politicians, Dugin never enjoyed official endorsement from the Kremlin. In 2014, he was fired from his position at Moscow State University, after critics interpreted his call to “kill, kill, kill” those behind massacres in Ukraine, such as the Odessa tragedy, as a call for a genocide against Ukrainian people.
The US think tank RAND Corporation wrote in 2017 that despite Western media reports of Dugin’s alleged “ties and connections” to the Russian leadership, he is “perhaps best thought of as an extremist provocateur with some limited and peripheral impact than as an influential analyst with a direct impact on policy.”
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Cont. reading: RIP – Darya Dugina
Quality Of Ukraine Reporting Continues To Deteriorate
The news about the war in Ukraine is getting so fake that even an amateur can debunk it no time.
Consider this from the Washington Post:
Across the river from Ukraine nuclear plant, shelling adds to fear
In Nikopol, just two miles across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the threat of imminent nuclear catastrophe is compounded by daily shelling from Russian forces near the plant.
The real distance between the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and Nikopol is 15 kilometers (9 miles) not "just 2 miles".
Source: LiveUAmap – bigger
Nikopol is too close to the plant for sirens to be of use — there’s no time to switch them on. Instead residents on the other side send warnings if they see artillery batteries being rolled out.
The well protected six reactor blocks of ZNPP can be seen in the upper left of the picture. The next civilian settlement is on the right side, some 2+ kilometers away from the plant with several big buildings between the two.
Cont. reading: Quality Of Ukraine Reporting Continues To Deteriorate
Ukraine Open Thread 2022-135
Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.
The current open thread for other issues is here.
Open (NOT Ukraine) Thread 2022-134
Dear readers,
I had to spend today with organizing for some unexpected maintenance need in my apartment. I therefore did not have time to read, and to write a new post. I hope that all will be fixed by tomorrow and will see you then.
News & views not related to the Ukraine conflict …
Ukraine Open Thread 2022-133
Only for news & views related to the Ukraine conflict.
The current open thread for other issues is here.
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